Misha's Wish
by OldManDempsey
Summary: In this story, Hisao never goes to Yamaku. No one knows he exists, and no one ever will. In this universe, Shiina "Misha" Mikado struggles with her studies, her future, and her relationship with her only good friend, Shizune Hakamichi. A story about growing up, about finding out who you are, and realizing what friendship really means. Oh yeah, and demons.
1. An Intro of Sorts

_You step through the door, shaking the snow off your hat and thick coat, and give the room a quick once over while you're doing so. You try to be sneaky about it; you don't want the scum smeared all over this dive-bar to notice how afraid you are. Toothless, scraggly beards, thinning hair, and dark, beady eyes; that's the default template for anyone in this place. It reeks of month-old spilled beer, vomit, and only God knows what else. And only God knows why you are here, because you are too ashamed to admit it to even yourself._

_You take shaky steps up to the bartender, a man with wood teeth, two peg legs, and a dead glass eye that always seems to be looking to the left, no matter what. You think about sitting on one of the gnarled and scarred stools, but are too afraid to move. The bartender notices you, and asks what you want._

_You take a breath, then whisper to him. He doesn't hear you, so you lean in and repeat, "I'm here... I'm here for Dempsey."_

_The bartender leers at you, then half growls/half whistles that Dempsey is where he always is, and points to an old beat-up door in a dark corner. You nod your thanks, then head to the door._

_You slowly push it open, and there he is. Sitting at a round table with only one other chair, wearing his beaten top hat, dirty vest, striped chambray, wrapped in a long black coat, his dusty boot heels scraping the dirty floor as he rocks himself in his chair. On the table is a fondue pot and two tea cups, and he takes one now, filling it to the brim with melted cheese, and downs it in one shot. He then peers at you through his monocle, and motions to the chair in front of him, "So, you've returned." He flashes you a smile that makes you think of a rusty hack-saw._

_Trembling, you take a seat, and try not to make contact with his piss-yellow eyes. He draws a ragged breath, then speaks, "After everything that happened last time?" He lets loose a laugh that sounds like a pig with asthma getting strangled, then continues when he sees your nod, "Tell ya what, I'll go easy on ya tonight. I'll cut back on the depravity, give you a chance to unwind a bit." He pushes you a tea cup filled with cheese, and you take it with shaking hands, lapping at it in both a happy and ashamed manner._

_He leans back, and folds his hands in his lap, "This be a tale of unrequited love, of loneliness, of hidden, shameful desires, and the consequences of not keeping them in check. A tale of not fitting in, a tale of life turning on you, and standing up to it. About asking 'just what does it mean to grow up?'"_

_He leans back over the table, and his sneer excites you. He asks, "Are you ready?"_

_You nod excitedly, and greedily gulp at your second cup of scalding cheese..._


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It would have been late for anyone else, but it was right on time for Mutou. He shambled in, the weekend still trailing in his wake, eyes straining against the light, and his brow knotted up in a hangover. He draped his long coat over his chair, then stopped to sniff it. He grimaced when he found it still smelled like last night's bad decisions, and opted to hang it by the window instead. He found a piece of chalk, holding it as he would a cigarette while he tried to work with whatever brain the highballs had left him, then scratched some page numbers and problems on the board. The sound of him slumping into the chair didn't draw even the tiniest giggle from class 3-3, who were already used to starting their Mondays this way.

Misha took her eyes off the live-action advertisement for canned coffee and swept them across the room, but the eraser of Shizune's pencil jutting into her side dragged them back. It turned out that Mutou had given them group work, which is something she should have saw coming. She sighed and pushed her desk over, but snapped into a cheery grin before Shizune could ask her if anything was the matter. Just like any other Monday.

It was always just the two of them, with everyone else scared that "Madam President" would find something for them to do outside of classwork, but neither of them minded much anymore. While it was true that most of Mutou's assignments were a bit more difficult as a result, the Student Council duo was more than used to taking on crazy workloads themselves. That assignment in particular was not too terrible either, with it mostly being reading. Misha was doing her best to keep her attention on the text, but was finding it pretty difficult. With Shizune furiously attacking what even she would call busy-work, Misha glanced about the classroom again.

Miki was talking somewhat loudly, the center of attention of her group, but out of the attention of Mutou, who looked like he was still figuring out how he got there. Hanako was actually working with someone, that one boy, what was his name... Misha became a little angry with herself as she referred to him as "Van Gogh" in her mind. The two of them seemed to be getting along, which had the entire class shocked. It wasn't just that day either. A while back, Mutou had forced the always scowling boy to work with Hanako, and she somehow managed to get him to laugh. Even though he still looked like he was sucking on something sour most of the time, he always grouped up with her since that day, and even crazier, Hanako didn't seem to mind.

Misha managed to turn back before Shizune prodded her again. Misha knew Shizune's habits all too well, and managed to catch her right before she made contact. Shizune was flustered for a moment, and then she motioned to the text before turning back to it herself. Misha smiled and obliged, but only halfway. She had the corner of her eye turned towards Shizune, and she would take a peek at her every so often. The morning sun was not really just glinting off her glasses, but more shining off her hair. Her face was scrunched up in concentration, with lips pursed, and her eyes narrowed and focused, darting about the pages of the text book. Nostalgia crept up Misha's back, a warm feeling that slowly spread across her whole being. For just that moment, Shizune almost looked like she did that day last year, in the Student Council office...

The warm feeling chilled instantly, and Misha's head was suddenly crowded by stormy thoughts. She let out a light laugh, while scolding herself mentally for acting like an old woman lost in her youth. An image of herself gazing out to sea on a widow's walk popped into her head, and she laughed again, just a little bit louder.

(Oh well, it seems the plus signs I put in to signify time passing were removed. Why? I haven't the faintest idea. Instead, I'll just put _Later On..._ in parentheses, so that way everything actually makes sense)

The day pressed on, and Misha pushed through it. She had to split from Shizune near the end of the day to take her advanced signing classes, then she had to rush outside and help Shizune gather supplies, and _then_ start a monster stall-building session for the upcoming festival. The sun was starting to hang low, and the both of them had stumbled into the Council room, looking like they had just finished building a whole new wing for the school. Shizune grabbed at the bottom of her shirt, looking disgusted at the paint stains that now dotted it. She kept staring at it as she slid into her desk, and the sweat on her nose caused her glasses to slip off. Misha sat on a table and faced Shizune, letting her legs dangle. She laughed at the sound of Shizune's glasses clattering on the desk, but the sudden intake of breath pulled in a few stray strands off hair from one of her "drills," which were coming apart. She gagged, and Shizune, holding her glasses steady with one hand, pointed at her with a smirk.

Misha composed herself as best she could, then signed, [How much longer is this going to take, Shicchan?]

Shizune huffed, [Right now is the worst possible time to get discouraged. We only have about a week left, and it took us two to get this far.]

Misha wore a hopeful look, [And how far is that?]

Shizune clenched her teeth, closed her eyes and looked downwards, [Close to halfway.]

Misha groaned like a wounded animal and flopped onto her side. The cool table-top comforted her, but only somewhat.

Shizune opened then rolled her eyes. [Come on, what was I just saying?]

[That wasn't the most convincing argument, Shicchan. Actually, I think that made it worse.]

Shizune got up and walked over until she was standing around three feet from Misha. Misha could tell that just standing was a burden for Shizune, but she still stood there just the same, arms crossed and looking like an annoyed teacher. Misha giggled at this, and Shizune pushed her glasses down her nose and peered at Misha over the top of her rims, signing, [Come on, we both know you're tougher than this.] Shizune flashed a smile, full of sweetness, [How about dinner at the Shanghai? On me?] She put her arms behind her back and swayed lightly, leaning over Misha somewhat.

Misha felt her face go slack. She just stared up at Shizune, feeling a bit lost. The blinds were still up on the windows, and an orange glow flowed into the room. The wooden desks and tables looked as if they were coated in gold. Every bit of dust hanging in the air sparkled and winked, slowly drifting to and fro. The light was mostly at Shizune's back, her face in shadow, until she pushed some of her hair back. Misha could only see half of her face, but the half of Shizune's smile and both of her bright eyes managing to cut through the shadow and sun alike had Misha feeling stuck, like being trapped in amber.

But unlike amber, the moment didn't last. Shizune's smile dropped, and she pulled herself straight, her hair falling back and her face hidden in shadow. But Misha still knew the look she had, she knew by the way Shizune turned slightly and bit at her knuckle. That embarrassed look, that look that only Misha got to see, and only at times like this. Misha sat up, laughing lightly, but her stomach was doing flips, and she felt like running from the room to escape Shizune's expression.

She hated days like today.

Misha signed, [I really don't feel like going anywhere. Maybe we could just stay here?]

Shizune turned back, [What? What would we eat? Unless you plan on forging ahead with the paperwork?] Shizune had a playful grin. _That_ playful grin. The one that always came after _that_ moment. That grin that didn't mean anything. It just hung there, like one of those lame motivational posters in an office, looking cheerful, but really empty, and dirt cheap. Hang in there, Misha!

Misha still played along, as always, but was desperately trying to.. to... to what?

Misha signed, her arms moving about in an excited way, [What about the emergency supplies? I really don't feel like walking Shicchan, I'm _really_ tired.]

Shizune thought a moment, then with tired steps, walked over to where she and Misha had stashed their purses. Shizune pulled out her own and placed it down on her desk, then signed, [So, I'll go get the drinks. What do you want?]

Misha sat up, fidgeting, still trying to figure out what she was doing. She signed, [Well... let's just go together.]

[I thought you were too tired to walk.] Shizune pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes a bit.

"Ugh," Misha rolled her head back for a moment, looking at the ceiling, before coming back down and signing, [It isn't _that_ far to the vending machine, Shicchan.]

Shizune closed her eyes again, and looked downwards, rubbing her temple, trying to make her mind work faster. After a moment, she looked up, and with a slightly-less empty smile, [Okay. Let's go.]

(_Later On...)_

The meal had not been so bad, but even though it could have been worse, the two had split up right afterward. Shizune had walked back to the dorms to turn in early, and Misha walked outside, back to the area that was stocked full of the skeletons of the stalls they were building. There was still a little bit of light left, and on a whim, Misha walked up the wooded path just beyond their little construction site, looking to clear her head with fresh air.

The terrain was more than a bit rough, but she weathered it, carefully stepping over roots grabbing at her. The path inclined at a steady pace, and the farther she went, the rockier it became. After a bit, she was breathing harder, and she hadn't even been walking long. She stopped for a moment, her hands on her knees, looking around. There wasn't a single person around for who knew how far. She straightened, arching a bit backwards and stretching, her hands on her hips and her eyes closed. She twisted around a bit, and when she opened her eyes, she saw that there was a smaller trail leading off to the right. She shrugged, and pushed through some hanging branches to reach it. They reached at her like crooked fingers, and a few of them tangled in her clothes. She was able to shake them off easily enough, and she started down the new path.

It was darker there than it was on the other path. The branches over head blocked whatever sun there was left, even though they had almost no leaves. The air was cooler, the path was meaner, and it twisted and turned so much Misha couldn't see very far ahead.

Just what was she doing?

Well, she was trying to figure out what she was trying to do earlier.

The problem was she really did know, and she was just gathering up the courage to face it.

She just wanted to be by Shizune, of course.

*THUMP*

"Damn it!" She pulled her fist back from the tree. Her other hand was mashed up against her face, ruffling her hair slightly. Slowly, shakily, and a bit painfully, she opened up her hand and looked at her knuckles. She cut them pretty bad, and they were bleeding to the point where it was starting to drip on the ground. She flexed her fingers, glad to see that she hadn't broken anything.

She held it in front of her with her other hand, and continued both her walk and her train of thought. The year hadn't been so great for Misha. Her grades were slipping, even her signing. Mutou had taken her out of the classroom earlier in the year, and told her she was smarter than this, that she just had to _focus_. Misha had just agreed with Mutou and been cute about it, but that talk really upset her. It had been pointed out to her more than once that she tended to get wrapped up in things. She would attach to something and run with it for miles of distance, but only in circles, accomplishing nothing but carving deep ruts into the ground that she couldn't climb out of. She would get distracted and knock things over, trip up, and miss what was going on right in front of her. It could be anything, even the small things around her, such as the scenery. Shizune would always give her a little push back to reality; she had a sixth sense when it came to Misha spacing out.

Shizune.

Just what did she feel about Shizune now?

She walked faster, unaware of where she was going.

Shizune rejected her. Okay. Did it still upset her? If it did, was that normal? Was she even normal in general? Just what was right, and did being "right" even really mean anything, or was it just a word?

The trees parted, and there was a smooth dirt clearing in front of Misha. The trees over her reached across it, their branches making a dome with their gnarled fingers. There wasn't the sound of a single animal, not one footstep, not one broken branch, not even the slightest touch of the warmth of life. Misha stumbled into the middle of it, her hand still dripping on the ground.

Misha talked to people, she wasn't anti-social. She got along with most of the people she met, even if it took a little while for them to get used to her. But it really didn't feel like she knew them. It was more like how she was now, standing in a small clearing, but the trees being the people around her. She could look at them, touch them, talk to them, but they were always outside. They couldn't enter, and she couldn't leave. It was so lonely in the middle of that circle. The more she thought about it, bigger it seemed to get, the trees almost running from her as fast as they could, to the point of it being like there was a desert between her and them.

She knelt for a minute, trying to catch her breath and take a look at her hand. It was still dripping blood onto the ground. She gritted her teeth, and closed her eyes.

She just didn't want to be alone anymore.

She sighed, then straightened up. The sun was half-hidden behind the horizon, and she had to take care of her hand. She trudged back to the school, disappointed that she hadn't accomplished anything with her walk.

She hated days like today.

(_Meanwhile...)_

Shizune turned over in her sleep. Her eyes twitched madly behind her eyelids, and her hands grasped at the sheets. At some point, she had broken out into a sweat.

Suddenly, her back arched, and she let out a pained gasp. She slammed down violently, and her body convulsed. It built, and built, and built, before she suddenly screeched a horrid scream, one that would not just shake your knees, but stop your heart.

People in her hall, people in the floor below, and people in the floor above heard it. No one investigated.

They were all too terrified.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Mutou's shamble had better posture today, but he still wore his usual stubble. He walked to the center area of the blackboard in the front of the room, coat still on, and just started lecturing, not even bothering to take attendance. His face remained bored despite the sudden flurry of thirty or so notebooks flying open, pens being suddenly wrenched out (many flying straight out of hands), and gasps as the entire class tried to keep up.

Misha stared blankly at him, watching his mouth move, but unable to make any sense out of the droning noise it was making. Usually by Tuesday Mutou managed to get himself together, no matter what. It looked like last weekend had really kicked his ass.

Misha yawned, and looked at the empty desk beside her. Shizune wasn't in, which struck her as pretty strange. Shizune would often skip class for Council duties, and with the festival coming up, it actually made sense. But she would usually stop by Misha's room first to either ask her to help or to borrow her notes later. Instead, Shizune had just not shown up at all.

Misha moaned and cracked her fingers, trying not to be too obvious to Mutou, and then realizing that it was a moot point.

And then, the door blew in. (/watch?v=RhzF2K2b7Xo)

Everyone but Mutou reacted to Shizune slowly walking in, her head high, and a small smirk on her face. She brushed past Mutou, paused, then walked back over to him. She raised her hand high up, and then brought it down hard on his back. Mutou straightened right up out of his slouch, and started to talk _much_ louder from the extra air he was now taking in. He continued as if nothing had happened, and Shizune just grinned cheekily and walked over to her desk, completely ignoring the wall of blank faces to her side, pocked with open mouths.

Her hips had an extra bit of sway, and her makeup looked as if she had put more effort into it, giving her the light blush of an innocent girl unaware of what she was doing to the people around her. It was only a ruse, but you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who gave a damn. Her eyes were only peeking somewhat out of her long lashes, and the little you could see was still more than enough to make you want to see more. Her shirt was a bit tighter, just to help roll your eyes up and down her curves easier, tickling her into that cheeky grin she wore. If you managed to get past that, you'd just get stuck on her rolled up skirt, nothing too high, but high enough to kick-start your imagination.

Despite this, every bit of her screamed elegance, every movement deftly snatching your breath, then playfully twirling it around long and slender fingers. She wasn't walking as much as she was gliding. Not one bit of it was forced; it was a natural flow that looked almost inhuman. Every head turned to watch her, and the movements they made looked like she was leaving a wake in still water. From a mile away, you stopped what you were doing. From a foot away, you had to grab at your chest to make sure your heart was still beating.

Shizune's stride carried her right past Misha, and she stuck out one of her hands, her fingers lightly running up Misha's arm as she walked to her desk. Misha shuddered quite visibly, and kept her face pointed forward at the now booming Mutou. Shizune sat down, and slooooooowly crossed her legs, her hand held up in front of her mouth, her eyes closed, and she let out one of her quiet laughs, her head trembling ever so slightly. She then opened her eyes, and placed her hands palm-down on the desk, one on top of the other, in front of her.

Misha was completely afraid to even glance at her. The butterflies in her stomach were trapped in a blender, and that was caught in a cyclone. She unconsciously bit her lip when a bead of sweat fell into her eye.

She then slammed her head straight into the window to her far left when she felt Shizune press the eraser of her pencil into her side. Miki laughed, and Shizune gave her an eyebrow. Miki quickly turned back to her group.

Group?

Shizune looked to Mutou, and pointed at him. Mutou then said, "Oh, um, Mikado, we are doing group work. You will be working with Hakamichi, correct?"

Misha made a series of noises that could be taken as confirmation and slid her desk over to Shizune's. The two started the assignment, with not a single word between them. Misha kept her face down, scratching at her notebook, and copying a bit from Shizune's when she pushed it over. She took a quick glance at Shizune, and saw that she had her chin in her hand, and was just smiling at Misha. Misha gasped, and dove back into her notebook.

At the end of class, Shizune put a hand on Misha's wrist to get her attention, then, [You're all caught up in English, right?]

Misha nodded her head. It was about all she could do.

Shizune smiled, [Let's go to the office. Come on.] She stood up and took a few steps to the door, stopping to throw Misha a glance over her shoulder. Misha stood up and walked behind Shizune like she was wearing stiff jeans. They passed by Mutou's desk, who was now leaning back in his chair with his feet up, waiting for the next teacher. He pinched his fingers in front of his head, as if he was tipping a hat like a cowboy, and then said to Shizune, "Ma'am." Shizune gave him a nod.

Misha followed all the while, trying to figure out what the hell just happened.

_(Later On... oh yeah, you can shut the music off too now.)_

*Tick*

Misha shuffled her feet.

*Tick*

Shizune tapped the papers she was holding on the table she was sitting at, straightening them, and then let out a contented sigh.

*Tick*

Misha realized that she had just been sitting across from her for an hour, not doing anything. She flushed, and looked down at the table.

*Tick*

Shizune put the papers aside, and poked at Misha. She straightened immediately, but was still red. Shizune signed, [Are you bored?]

Misha slowly and with great difficulty unhooked her hands from one another and pulled them from her lap, [No, it's just I don't know what we are doing even.]

Shizune smiled, [We're just going over some of the forms that the class representatives need to turn in. I want to organize these ones before all the last-minute ones pour in.]

[But, Shicchan,] Misha thought hard on how to phrase it, [I haven't really done anything. At all.]

Shizune shrugged. [So?]

Misha's face was starting to get scrunched in worry, [Well, I don't want to be a bother...]

Shizune interrupted her by grabbing her hands. Saying that Misha froze in place would do no justice to the darkening redness of her blush or the sudden thundering beat of her heart. Shizune gently let go, and signed, [It's just good having you here.] She motioned to the forms, [I'm starting to suspect that most of these people are not taking any of this serious enough. Look at this one! It's not even completely filled out. At the same time, they want a stall that is double the size of everyone else's! They just take, and take, and _take_,] she let out a long breath, wiping at her forehead with her hand. She had been wearing a frown, but it was no where to be seen when she opened up her eyes and looked at Misha, [Just you being here helps.]

"Uh... um... erm... ehhh...," despite Misha's reply being both nonsense and spoken, Shizune still looked as if she understood somehow. She got up from her seat, and started to lean over the table...

The door opened. "Mikado? Mikado, are you in here?"

"Uh, yes?" Misha squeaked back.

A young girl, one of Misha's advanced sign language classmates, walked over, and Shizune slid back to her seat, her arms and her mood now crossed. The girl spoke, "Misha, the teacher asked me to find you and ask if you would please come to class."

Misha was going to reply, before Shizune grabbed her and had her translate, "Uh, can't you see that we are busy?"

The girl nodded, but stood steadfast, "Look, Mikado, everyone in the class knows that you are failing."

Apparently Misha didn't. She stood up, "What?! Failing?!"

The girl nodded again, but Misha was again interrupted by Shizune grabbing her by the shoulder, then, "Erm, Shicchan says that she needs all hands on deck in order to make sure the festival goes off without a hitch. And being that there is only two of us..."

"Mikado, please," the girl looked sad, "Teacher practically _begged_ me to go find you. I know that you two are doing the festival preparations, but come on..."

Shizune lunged forward, and Misha had to peek over her shoulder to see what she was signing, "How dare you! This festival is extremely important! This chance only comes around every hundred or so years, and I'll be damned if some stuck-up hussy who says she's studying JSL and _still_ needs someone to translate for her is going to get in my way!"

Misha finished translating, then arched her eyebrow and stared at Shizune in confusion. Sure, Shizune had the tendency to fly off the handle, but, "What? Shicchan, every what?" She spoke and signed.

The girl from Misha's class ignored her, and so did Shizune. The girl cracked her knuckles, [I do not know talking you about, I sign fine, and will not accept things of rude coming from the mouth of you.] She then nodded to Misha, "Come on, Mikado. If _you_ fail this class, our teacher just might leap out a window." She reached and grabbed Misha's hand, pulling her out of the Council office.

Misha gave in, but turned back to Shizune and hoped that she would be able to read her lips, "I'm sorry, Shicchan! I'll be right back, just keep working!"

Shizune stood tall, composed, and expressionless. Her eyes cut through the air towards Misha. After a moment, she slowly closed the door, and Misha struggled up the stairs with the girl.

(Egads! The formatting! There's a good chance the text sizes may have gone wonky, I'll try to sort it)


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Misha couldn't even make sense of the days anymore. Her mind kept getting yanked back to Shizune. She would go to bed, thinking that sleep would help her get a better grip on the situation, only to wake up and realize that she had kept thinking about her through the night, and now her conscious mind was just picking up where her unconscious one had left off.

She didn't even remember when she did any real classwork either. Mutou seemed to be noticing that Misha was just sitting at her desk with her books closed, but he hadn't done anything about it yet. Speaking of Mutou, he seemed to be acting like a man half his age. He was there bright and early, he was clean-shaven, and instead of lecturing, only somewhat interested himself, with that "I feel dead inside," look on his face, he now was passionately preaching, complete with waving arms and a sharp look in his eye. At the end of class the previous day, he had dramatically sat down in his desk chair after a student had gotten a question wrong, with both of his hands palms down and supporting him, eyes pointed towards the ground. He slammed a fist on the desk, then slowly looked up, and proclaimed, "As God as my witness, I _will_ make you understand!"

The student that got the question wrong said, "But Sensei, how?" Their eyes started to fill with tears.

Mutou walked over, placed a hand on their head, and spoke with a gentle smile, "Because I _believe."_

The student looked up at Mutou, with a spark of hope dashing across their face.

Then Hanako stood up, and with a completely serious expression said, "And _I_ believe."

Her new friend also stood up, "And I believe."

Miki rose, "I believe."

Everyone rose (sans Shizune, who was out and about, and Misha, who was wondering if she was suffering from severe food poisoning), and Hanako started to clap. Soon, the entire class was giving a standing ovation, and Mutou beamed over all of them.

Misha had just sat there, looking as if she was about to start drooling, absentmindedly wondering if there was going to be a moving orchestral score before the credits started to roll.

Meanwhile, Shizune didn't seem to be too upset about missing Misha the other day. Actually, Misha only caught Shizune for a few minutes at a time outside the Council office, and whenever she did, Shizune looked as if she had been doing some heavy work. But even when tired out, Shizune still had every single drop of the radiance she debuted on Tuesday. As to what Shizune was doing, Misha would only get, [You will know soon enough.] She would then flash her a smile that would drop a hundred people to their knees, before practically skipping off.

When the effect the smile had on Misha would wear off (it took a while, but it did), she would think about how Shizune pretty much didn't go to class anymore. Sure, the festival was a big deal, but this was sort of pushing it. The worst part was Misha wasn't helping Shizune much. She would pretty much file papers, and... and... go to the vending machine?

In fact, no one was really bothering with Misha. Groups of people would part in the hallways for her, and teachers would never even bring it up if she walked in late, or even if she was missing homework. Her signing teacher had suddenly decreed that using sign language out of the classroom would count as credit, and that Misha had a ton of it, bringing up her grades drastically.

Misha put her juice down. She was flying solo for lunch that day, and had a table all to herself. She didn't mind in the slightest; she definitely needed a minute to sort out everything that had happened so far that week. She stared at her untouched food, when suddenly someone bumped into her. Misha pulled herself back to reality, and was nearly hit in the face by two hands suddenly coming together. A voice rushed past them, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" The person in question had her hands blocking her own face, and she was bowing. The sight of the "proper" apology was so unbelievably ridiculous that it took Misha a minute to recognize the voice, "Wait, aren't you in my signing class?"

It had to be. She turned away from Misha quickly, but Misha recognized her as the girl had dragged her from the Council office on Tuesday. The girl started to walk away, "Please just ignore me!"

Misha stood up and grabbed her arm lightly. The girl actually started to panic and twist away from Misha's touch, causing Misha to pull on the girl on reflex. The sudden force from Misha got the girl to spin around, letting Misha get a full look at her face, and it left her aghast.

You could see the girl's eyes, but it required a little bit of work, mostly through the dark bruises that surrounded them, the flesh puffed into a sick-looking purplish-blue. There were several cuts that ran through the bruises, looking like trenches cut through an expanse of mud. Her nose, or what was left of it, was swollen to the point that her nostrils were almost the size of pinheads. The rest of it had been pressed straight into her face, so much so that was hard to even tell she had a nose to start with. There was a nasty scar above her upper lip, and with a growing horror, Misha realized that the cause had been the girl's own bottom row of teeth, driven upwards with tremendous force, as if from a upper-cut from a professional boxer.

"Oh... oh God, what happened?" Misha stammered.

The girl looked down immediately, "I, in my near-unbelievable ineptitude, fell down the stairs and did this to myself." The girl was struggling with the words that even Misha knew didn't belong to her.

Misha brought a pair of comforting hands to the girl's shoulders, and drew her a bit closer. With a low, soothing voice, Misha said, "Don't say that. This is serious, if you don't tell me, fine, but you really ought to tell..."

The girl snapped her head up, and she whispered, "I... can't talk to you. I can't be seen with you. Just please...," she pulled herself free from Misha's grasp, "...please, leave me alone."

The girl skittered off, and Misha lost her in the lunch crowd.

(_Later On...)_

"Mikado, I'd like a word with you." Mutou motioned to the door.

There was only a few minutes left before class ended, and the entire class had been given the last ten minutes to work on whatever they wanted. Mutou had her dead-to-rights, so Misha slowly rose from her chair and slithered to the door, head down.

Mutou closed the door behind them, and leaned on the wall, one foot pressing on the wall. Like a cowboy leaning on a post. Misha was just nervously fumbling with her hands, trying her damnedest to call up her usual cheer, and getting all the more frustrated that it was no where to be found.

Mutou spoke in a cool voice, but still a voice that demanded respect, "Mikado, I couldn't help but notice that you haven't been participating in class." Misha was unable to respond for a few moments, but when she finally had the strength, Mutou cut her off, "And neither has Hakamichi, who, frankly, doesn't even seem to come to class anymore."

Misha gulped. Mutou continued, "Do you have any idea why Miss Hakamichi has not only been skipping this class, _but every single one of her courses?_"

"Well," Misha's words came out slowly and with much difficulty, as if she was drawing them from the bottom of an exceptionally dry well, "Shicchan has been busy with the festival preparations..."

"The festival." It was almost like Mutou was kicking over Misha's puny foundation for a poorly planned-out sandcastle. "That's the excuse, the festival."

Misha was shocked by Mutou's frank tone. She stammered, "Yea-yea-yeah, the festival." She looked down at her shoes. The one on the right had been scoffed by her trip into the woods.

"Well, okay, despite that is both a ludicrous and unsatisfactory excuse, it only covers Hakamichi. Now, why are _you_ just sitting in my class with your books closed?"

"Eep!" Despite it being a nonsense word, Misha had managed to perfectly describe her state of mind.

(Mutou-sensei sez: Open this link in another tab, and then keep reading! Doing so will raise your class participation grade! Type the full address to youtube, then add: watch?v=7qyL3gArv3o)

Mutou turned from Misha, ran a hand through his hair, and stared down the hallway. If you let your imagination run with the scene, you could see Mutou looking out over a vast prairie, with grass gently waving, maybe a herd of buffalo grazing, and the golden sun glinting off his weathered skin as he chewed a straw of grass, instead of looking ridiculously stoic as he stared at an abstract painting of a face some student had painted years ago, "Misha, your whole life is ahead of you, but only if you take your studies seriously."

Misha trembled, "But..."

He turned to Misha, his eyes narrow, but still caring. It was the look of a hard man, a man who had seen things, a man who wanted to warn the younger generation of the follies to come. Instead, the only red the man had seen had been from his pen on tests he marked as failures, but I digress, I mean, Mutou said, "I'm sorry Misha, but I'm going to have to forbid you from working with the Student Council until this festival is over."

Misha practically screamed, "What?! You can't do that!"

Mutou only nodded at her, tipping that stupid imaginary cowboy hat again, "Yes I can, and I will. Your grades come first. I know this will hurt Hakamichi as well, but I'm certain she will find help." He chuckled, "Of course, she will have to come to class in order to recruit anyone."

Misha could only tremble as a response. No Shicchan? No Council? But the festival... all the work she had done...

Her grades were pretty bad...

But she was passing her signing, and all of her teachers seemed to suddenly be pleased with her...

And Shicchan... how could she... would she be able to see Shicchan?

Oh God, was that pathetic? Yes? No, that was her friend, she had every right to be sad over not seeing her. For only a few days. That's it.

Good God, was that pathetic? She was pathetic?

She only barely kept herself from getting pulled into the tide of her thoughts. Meanwhile, Mutou turned from Misha, his hand on the doorknob, and spoke softly, "Come on now, little doggie, the rest of the wagon train is waitin' for us, and they're gettin' kinda itchy. They smell that goldmine of knowledge over the horizon, and it makes them hate waitin' for anyone, even you." He pushed through the door, and he and Misha rode into the sunset.

That didn't exist.


	5. Chapter 4

Misha couldn't look Shizune in the eyes when she stepped out in front of her in the hall. Misha had been en-route to the dorms, but somehow Shizune had tracked her down. She had a beaming smile, and she was bouncing about, biting her lip. She signed quickly, and Misha had some difficulty keeping up, [Hey, there you are, I've been looking all over for you!] She took a step closer to Misha, enough for her to feel some of Shizune's warmth, and it slowly started to spread through her as well. Shizune signed, [The time has almost come! Isn't it exciting? All our work will finally come to fruition, and then we can...,] Shizune let out a happy sigh, looking upwards at the ceiling with a dreamy expression.

She lost it when her eyes met with Misha's. Shizune became worried, [What's wrong?] She put a hand to Misha's head for a second, [Are you ill?]

Misha shook her head slowly. She didn't know how to say it.

Shizune signed, [Come on, to the office, we can talk there. We'll be all alone, it will be okay there.] She made a grab at Misha's wrist, but Misha pulled back. There was a quick twitch of fear in Shizune's worried look.

Misha took a deep breath and stepped back. Slowly and carefully, she signed, [Shicchan, I can't today.]

Shizune responded, [But why not?]

Misha fumbled with her fingers for a moment, playing with the bandages wrapped there. She signed, [Mutou-sensei told me I can't, not until the festival is over at least.] She looked up at Shizune's eyes, and she felt her heart stop. Shizune looked as if she had just gotten word that she had a terrible disease. Misha started to sign quicker; anything was better than how Shizune looked right now, it was tearing her up inside, [It will only be a few days, Shicchan! I mean, I have been slacking off a lot lately... well, this whole year, really...]

Shizune grabbed her hands tightly, enough to make it hurt. Misha didn't care though, she just let Shizune hold her, and she just stared at their hands. There were still people walking all around them in the hallway, but they were only the background, nothing important, becoming just shapes shifting by. Their talk slowly became jumbled voices, then a steady rumble, and slowly, it started to fade. There was only the few feet that the both of them stood in. A silent world, save for short, quick breaths.

Shizune let go, her fingers lingering on Misha's for a moment, before retreating to her sides. They both looked at Misha's hands, at the white marks Shizune had squeezed into them, watching them slowly return to pink.

Shizune signed, [That's not what you really want though, right?] Her bottom lip trembled somewhat, and her eyebrows were pushed together. Her sadness was an icy pin that was slowly working its way into Misha's stomach.

Misha swallowed, then thought hard. The girl in front of her, just who was she? Her friend? Shizune could be difficult. She got easily carried away, sometimes wrapping around someone and swirling them around the storm of her life, only somewhat listening to their protests. She threw away anything that gave her the slightest bit of discomfort.

But strangely, Shizune was a fighter. There were days were she could be hurt, and she would just try to stand taller. She would bear the pain, and hit back twice as hard. It wasn't often, but it happened.

And Misha was one of the people Shizune had swept up, picked her up off the ground like a tornado, tossing her to and fro. It had been a chance meeting, but...

...but when Shizune had clutched her, she held her back, just as tightly. She thought she hated her, but she still held on.

Why?

She stared into Shizune's eyes, flashing back at her with their cool azure sheen. She felt herself tip forward and fall into that icy blue sea. Shizune's arms tightened around her back, and Misha rested her head in the crook of Shizune's neck.

They stayed like that for a few minutes. The blurred outlines of the people walking by reminded Misha of gentle waves. The two of them slowly rocked back and forth.

She thought back to Monday, about Shizune standing over her in the Council office, fighting against her fatigue. Yeah, it took a bit of pushing, but Shizune could be thoughtful in her own way. You had to turn your head a bit and squint, but it was there.

She felt Shizune's hand slowly creep up her back.

Shizune was always there, trying to be a good friend. Even when things became strained, she still tried.

Was it pity? Misha bit her lip as she thought hard. She shook her head, digging in just a little bit more. Shizune didn't pity her at all.

Shizune's hand was at the base of her neck.

If Shizune pitied her, she would never had said, [Come on, we both know you're tougher than this.] She never, _ever_ babied Misha.

Shizune's fingertips were creeping up her neck.

She didn't pity Misha. She _believed_ in Misha. That thought, no, that _fact, _it could make Misha stand ten times taller. She felt like she towered over everyone, that she could leap over mountains. The skies could darken, and the world could turn on her, but she would be able to just stand there in the face of it all, and give it smile and a laugh.

Nothing could stop her.

So... so what was this? Right now, what was happening?

Misha took a sharp breath as she felt Shizune's fingers reach her hair, tickling her a bit.

That girl she said she fell down the stairs. Misha knew better, hell, anyone with any sort of common sense knew that. That girl had been pummeled into the floor. Kicked, beaten, had probably screamed, and the only response might have been someone closing a window or door, trying to drown out the disturbing sounds as they went about their day...

Misha pushed back against Shizune, separating the two of them. She took a few steps back, putting her beyond arm's reach. Shizune stood still, her arms still somewhat outstretched, and she stared dumb-founded at the space where Misha had just been. The low rumble of everyone talking around them reached Misha's ears again. The moment was over.

Why? Just why had that girl's face popped into her mind?

Shizune straightened her shirt slowly, with a look of disbelief still on her face. She slowly brought her eyes to Misha's, [Does it really mean that much to you? What he said?]

Misha wasn't so sure on the inside, but she still signed, [Shicchan, maybe it's for the best. It will be just a few days, I think we can survive, right?] Misha tried to smile reassuringly, and was ineffective on the both of them.

Shizune closed her eyes for a moment, drawing a deep breath. When she opened them, she had a look of determination on her face, [Fine. I'll come up with something.] She turned her nose up and went to walk past Misha, but then stopped and grabbed her arm, [Just trust me, okay?] She then pushed on.

Misha felt dizzy as she watched Shizune march off. She rubbed her temples, and tried to think. Then someone bumped shoulders with her, gave her an insulting (though admittedly creative) quip about spacing out in the hallway, forcing Misha to come to the conclusion that she needed to find a place to relax. She had originally wanted to just head back to the dorms, but now she was feeling a bit too restless to be cooped up in her tiny room. Instead, she pointed her feet to only place that could be both quiet and peaceful, yet be full of good distractions.


	6. Chapter 5

Misha pushed open the double doors to the library, stopping for a moment to draw in the warm air, and the smell of the old pages that was brought with it. There was always something calming about the library, which is probably why there was always talk of disciplinary action against people sleeping in it. After she had enough of the ambiance, Misha stepped through the door way, and into the large main area.

For the first couple hundred feet or so, there was only a wide expanse filled with random tables, and you were walled in on the left and right, with the ceiling two floors tall. Further down, the right wall would fall away, and several rows of bookshelves, some of them almost reaching the ceiling, would stretch down, their fingertips just stopping short of a small study area, cluttered with small work desks, some more tables, and in a corner, several bean bag chairs. The walls there were lined with bookshelves as well. The wall opposite the door Misha entered had several recesses just below the ceiling and running down its entire length, each filled with two Gothic-style windows that looked like they belonged in a Catholic cathedral, with no curtains or any means to open them. They were only there to catch the sun and spread it across the library, and their lightly tinted surfaces made sure it would never glare harshly on anyone inside. The coloring of the walls, not quite white yet not quite beige, reflected the light warmly. The light that was cast over the library reminded Misha of a soft fire in a hearth. It made her feel like curling up on a big, comfy chair like a cat, with a soft and safe smile on her face as she fell asleep.

When everything was taken into account, the library felt like another world, like something straight out of a fantasy novel. The high ceilings also gave it somewhat of an epic and awe-inspiring feel. Misha could think of no place better to unwind for an hour or so.

She wandered slowly to her left, not really thinking on where her feet were landing, and slumped onto the check-out desk that was there, resting her back on it, her arms out and elbows on the counter-top. It was a pretty rash movement; to describe it as she halfway-collapsed onto it would be better. She let her head fall back, her hair spilling backwards over her shoulders.

There was a tiny voice that came from behind Misha, "Ahh...ehhhh... ahhh...ah-choo!"

Misha straightened up, her confusion showing on her face. She slowly turned around, and peered over the top of the desk.

Yuuko picked her head up off the desk a few inches and yawned. Her eyes were half-closed, and didn't help her much when it came to her grabbing for her glasses. When she finally managed to get them on, she sat up in her chair, stretching her arms above her head and then out to her sides, before bringing them back down and wiping some of the drool off the corner of her mouth with her sleeve. Halfway through this, she paused, and her eyes flicked to Misha. Misha was fascinated by Yuuko's expression changing in slow motion: first, a contented face from a good rest, then, a little startled, then her eyebrows slowly climbing her forehead, her nostrils stretching wide, her mouth starting small, then over time, opening into a wide "O" shape. She stayed like this for a bit, and after a few seconds, attempted to talk, "Ack... eh... I..."

Misha cocked an eyebrow.

Slowly, Yuuko rose, still wearing the same expression. After a few more seconds of silent and very awkward silence, she then violently bent down at the waist, and started to perform incredibly fast bows of apology, "Oh, I'm sorry! I've wasted your time, and the school's time, but I was so tired, I have to work after this at my other job, and I have a test coming up...!," and something else, coupled with something else. Misha could only catch half of the words that Yuuko was sputtering though, because she was still speaking them when she was bowed forward, sending them straight into the desk. At first, Misha waited for her to finish, then became very surprised when she realized that Yuuko could probably do this for hours on end, so she finally timed it just right so she could grab Yuuko by the shoulders when she swung back up.

Misha gave her a bit of a squeeze, and for the second time that day, spoke in a low and soothing voice, "It's alright, just take a deep breath." Misha took one herself as an example, and Yuuko followed suit right after. Misha also flashed her a big smile, and Yuuko returned a small one. Misha was starting to get impressed that she was getting better at this.

When Yuuko was finally calm enough to stand on her own, she straightened her dress, re-adjusted her glasses, and then spoke as if nothing had happened, "So, is there anything I can do for you today?"

Misha shrugged. Yuuko cocked her head, and Misha let out a light laugh, saying, "Not really, I just kind of came here to unwind."

"Unwind?" Yuuko asked.

Misha nodded with a light care-free smile, which Yuuko wasn't returning. After a second, Misha asked, "Um, that's okay, right?"

Yuuko had somewhat of an annoyed frown, and she slowly shook her head, saying, "It's almost time for me to close." She then had a look like she realized something, and started to knead her hands together, "Unless you are still working, then I usually don't bother you until the last minute, but you said you weren't here to work, actually, so that wouldn't apply, unless you were about to _start_ working, then I guess I wouldn't bother you, unless you needed help, which you probably would, because there isn't much time until the library closes, but I have a lot to do, so I don't know if I can help you."

She stopped, and Misha blinked. Misha then shook her head, put her smile back on, opened her mouth to talk, before she realized that Yuuko had only stopped to take a breath, and then continued, "I guess you are in a rush, because you threw the doors open pretty loud, and that was kind of rude, this _is _library, but I guess it couldn't be helped if you are in a rush, but it did wake me up a little, not too much, but enough, but, oh no, I was sleeping! I can't sleep in here! I'm always yelling at people for coming in here and sleeping but I fell asleep but this job just frustrates me so much they barely pay me anything and they just keep demanding I do more and more things and I didn't think it was going to be like this..."

Misha's hands were on Yuuko's shoulders again, "Deep breaths, Yuuko."

She took them, then thanked Misha. After Misha let go of her, Yuuko asked again, "So, can I help you?"

"I'm not too sure."

"I might not be much help, but it can't hurt to try, right?" Yuuko gave her a warm smile.

Misha sighed, and looked down. If only Yuuko could.

When she looked back up, she saw that Yuuko was getting fretful again, and she said to Misha, "I don't look like much help, do I?" She started to knead her hands faster.

Misha's eyes widened when she realized that Yuuko was about to blow again, and then did her best to act casual, giving out a light "wa-hahaha~," which sounded phony even to her, and said, "It's really not the kind of problem you go to the library for."

"Oh," Yuuko said. She blinked, thought for a second, and then tentatively, as if she was trying not to scare away a small animal, "Is it... um, a boy?"

Misha snapped her head up, and blushed. Yuuko took her reaction as confirmation, and giggled, "So, it _is_ a boy."

"Well... well... uh, sure, um, yeah, wa-hahaha~! You caught me Yuuko! Boy trouble! Hahaha~! Whoo!" Misha swiped at her forehead in an exaggerated manner, which rose an eyebrow on Yuuko. Misha put her hands by her sides, realized that looked like she was standing at attention like a soldier, then tried to lean causally on the desk.

It didn't really work too well.

Yuuko surprisingly took it all in stride, "Come on, um..."

"Misha."

Yuuko nodded quickly, "Misha! Okay, Misha... hey, weren't you the one who was sticking all those fliers in the books?!"

Misha's eyes darted back and forth, "Um, no~?"

Yuuko narrowed her eyes, "You sure? You aren't lying?"

"Um, yeah~?"

"Yeah what?"

"Yeah~, no~. Like, yeah, to the no. As in no~?"

Yuuko nodded, still looking suspicious, but said, "Okay." She then pointed a finger at Misha, "But I still got my eyes on you."

"So, um, boys~?"

"What? Oh yes! Boys! Well, you see...," Yuuko's face got scrunched up in worry.

Misha sighed, and made motions with her hand to get Yuuko to hurry up, "_Misha_..."

"Right! Misha! Well...," Yuuko took a deep breath. "So, what's the problem?"

"This is gonna take a while, isn't it?"

"What was that?"

"Nothing~! Well, the problem is I'm not too sure if there is a problem." Misha started to drum her fingers on the desk, and looked down as she did.

"What do you mean?"

"Weeelll...," Misha was talking slowly, and carefully thinking out everything she was saying, "I've been friends with this... person, for a while." Misha opened her mouth to keep talking, but nothing came out.

Yuuko kept the pace going for her, "Friends, huh? And just friends?"

Misha scratched the back of her head in an uncomfortable way, "I... I did try to take a step forward, but it didn't work out so great." A subdued laugh followed, sounding more like a cough.

"But you remained friends?"

Misha sighed. She felt like she was confessing to murder, and she hadn't even really told Yuuko anything. Just then, Misha realized that the school librarian was the first person she ever talked to about something like this.

Yuuko broke Misha's thoughts, "So, you stopped being friends."

"No! No, no, no, not at all, ha ha~! We're still friends."

Yuuko moved as if she was going to say something, but stopped short. Misha caught this, and said, "What?"

Yuuko looked as if saying this pained her, "He's a friend, and you're... not."

Misha blinked like she was dazed. Yuuko panicked, "I'm sorry! That was rude..."

"No. No, heh, actually, yeah, I think I know what you mean." Misha put her elbows down on the desk and caught her head in her hands, "And, well, that's the 'almost' problem. I guess I still want something more, even after all this time." She looked up, "Is that... weird~?"

Yuuko looked deep in thought, "How long is 'all this time?'"

Misha groaned, then into her hands, "A year."

Yuuko patted Misha's head, "That's kind of a long time. There's been no one else? At all?"

Misha just shook her head into her hands.

"It can't be that bad out there, can it?"

"Wahahaha~! No, it's not. I guess I'm not all that interested."

Yuuko looked confused, "Why?"

Misha picked her head up, her panic showing on her face. She gulped, then, "No one has really caught my eye, I guess."

"And no one has come to you?"

Misha swallowed hard again. Sure, there had been a few boys who had approached her, but she had turned all of them down. Well, except for that one "date," if you really wanted to call it that, earlier in the year. Misha really didn't know why she had said yes to begin with. Maybe she just needed some sort of confirmation. To see if she really knew what she wanted. God knows there had been moments where she wondered about herself, why she... liked, what she liked. She remembered something an uncle of hers had said years ago, about people doing... "those things," with other people like "them" because they were "scared," that they didn't want to grow up, and just wanted to pretend. Misha bit on her lip unconsciously. What a horrible thing to say. Still, there were times... damn, entire _nights_ where she would get stuck on what he said.

Hell. That was the word. When you stare into the mirror for hours and have no idea who you're looking at. Maybe it's a smirking devil, who knows.

So, the date had just been hanging out. But that was what a date was supposed to be. She guessed, anyway. The two of them didn't really talk, just watched some movie, ate something, and that was it, caught the bus back, and never said anything to each other afterward. Oh, the joys of being young and free, and the reckless things you do.

She giggled. No reason, really. Why not?

Yuuko waited patiently all the while Misha stared out one of the high windows. It took Misha a few minutes to come back, "There were a few~. I said no to most of them. Didn't really care for anyone, I guess." She shrugged and threw on a quick but huge smile. She could win a gold medal for how easily she could lug those around. Heavy bastards, every single one.

Yuuko gave her a pat on the shoulder, and Misha cocked her head a bit. Yuuko pulled back, "I'm sorry, I know it's kind of corny, but you kinda looked like you just needed a hug or something." She rubbed her temple, "Actually, that is really corny."

"Thanks."

That took Yuuko by surprise. She smiled, "You're welcome. And can I suggest something?"

Misha shrugged. "Sure."

"Maybe you should lower your standards."

"WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~!" It was a genuine laugh for once. Maybe a bit bitter, but real, all the same. When she came out of it, she was met by a stern frown from Yuuko, as well as the knowledge nearly everyone in the library was staring at her. She tried her best to ignore it all, and spoke, "Well, I don't think that will help Yuuko. Not because it's bad advice or anything~! It' just... this person has been acting a bit different lately. Like, I'm not too sure if they feel the same way they did."

"Oh, so they're, 'interested,' now?"

Misha bit her lip again. If she wasn't careful, she was going to cut it, "I think."

"You think you might be over-thinking it, or reading to much into it."

"Yeah. No, don't say it," she cut off Yuuko, "if I'm wrong, I might really lose my friend. For good."

"Well, how are you supposed to know?"

Misha squirmed. "It's a bit embarrassing."

"They probably heard that laugh down the hall. Maybe upstairs."

Misha fidgeted harder, now getting frustrated.

Yuuko put her hand on Misha's shoulder again, "Look, how about I say something embarrassing. Would that be okay?"

"What~? How would that help?"

"Well, you'd see that no one would throw a pie in my face for suddenly saying something embarrassing."

Misha giggled. "Okay, so what is this big juicy secret?"

Yuuko took a breath, "Well, it's why I work here, actually. I mean, I probably would have come by anyway at some point, but the history of this town and, well," she motioned to one of the windows, "the forest out there is why I skipped down my list of places I was looking for work."

Misha perked her head up. "The woods?"

Yuuko nodded excitedly, "Yeah! Those woods are actually kind of well-known in... certain circles." She pulled up a heavy sigh, then, "Look, back when I was your age, I... oh God...ahhh, I was into that whole 'witchcraft' thing."

Misha's tongue was going to start gushing blood if she didn't get a hold of herself. She couldn't help but think of Yuuko zooming back and forth from the library to the Shanghai on a broom. Maybe that's how she always seemed to be at both places at once?

Yuuko started to get upset, seemingly forgetting as to why she was doing this to begin with, "You're laughing. Oh God, you're laughing, just like them, just like how they were telling me that a green complexion was unhealthy, and..."

"No no no! I fwas jusss finda shawked," Misha's tongue was still pinned in between her molars. She let it go, "So, you did that candle lit circle stuff~? With that board thingy?"

"N-no, well, yeah, a few times, but I just liked looking that stuff up. I don't know, just weird old legends and stuff. It was a lot more interesting than modern history, when most of the world had already been discovered and all." She had a small smile, "I guess that's why I started looking into really old history. There really isn't much of a future in it, or at least not a lot of options, but that's when stories were _stories_. Sure, mankind moved on, and such things just seemed silly, but...," her eyes drifted up to the ceiling.

Misha giggled a bit. It was actually kinda cool. Yuuko might be more than a bit neurotic, but she was going after what she wanted. Come hell or high water, really. Or bubbling cauldrons. Still, that was kinda cool.

Misha straightened up, "Thanks, Yuuko. Oh, and uh, sorry."

Yuuko snapped out of it, "Oh, sure. Let me know how it goes!"

"How what goes~?"

Yuuko narrowed her eyes, "If you chicken out after all that..."

Misha giggled and skipped off to the door, "Don't worry, I was just messing with ya~!"

Yuuko called out after her, "Please try to be quiet, this is a library! And good luck!"


	7. Chapter 6

Misha was taking her sweet time walking to the Student Council office. A hundred different outcomes were trying to force their way past her eyes as she walked.

Maybe they got together? Maybe Shizune brushed her off, and they tried to still be friends? Maybe things would slowly come apart?

Maybe she'd get upset?

Misha stopped. Just what would she do without Shizune? Even if they didn't fight over this, just what would she do?

"I don't know." She stopped to place the voice. It was hers. It kept going, "But anything is better than this. 'This' isn't really anything. I need to do this." She kept walking.

Her footsteps started out loud, echoing down the halls, before getting smaller and quieter when she got closer, like people stifling their gossiping as the accused to be hanged was marched by them. Every door window was an eye following her, even when she saw no faces in them. It didn't feel like a hallway, more like a long concrete box she was trapped in, six feet underground, the sun no where to be seen.

She finally reached the door. She'd be there on the other side. Misha didn't know if she was going to be able bear those deep blue eyes.

She reached her hand towards the door handle, but only rested her fingers on it.

There were voices on the other side, and both were pretty heated. The door was pretty thick, and even though Misha couldn't tell what was being said, she could feel the aggression in both of those voices.

She leaned forward and put her ear to the crack in the door. She recognized one voice immediately. It was Shizune's. She sounded like she was scolding someone. Maybe she found someone to help her? She giggled. She doubted it was a real Council member...

Shizune's voice.

It was _Shizune's voice._

Misha stepped back from the door, looking less steady than a junkie relaxing on a nice bottle of cough syrup. It was the same exact voice Misha heard in her head whenever Shizune signed. _The same. Exact. One._

She doubled over, her hands flying to her temples in a futile attempt to keep her mind from cracking open. Her knees knocked against one another as she waited for the nausea to pass.

When she was finally able to stand straight, she tried to think logically. Misha wasn't even sure if Shizune could even talk, and if she did, there was a good chance she wouldn't. Shizune always had a bit of a problem when it came to her not being able to control something, or worse, not master it. It would just be another thing that gave her discomfort, and she could probably easily discard it.

Misha smacked her own face. She needed to think logically, not cynically. It was probably just a coincidence. That's all. Nothing to be concerned about, no need to be paranoid.

She only pushed the door open a crack, and peeked in.

So much for the power of positive thinking.

There were only two people in the office. One of them was Shizune, standing in front of her desk, her arms crossed and body rigid, her eyes slicing through the air like knives towards the other party in the room, Mutou, who looked bored.

The Council room was a bit cluttered, with various books thrown open over tables, papers everywhere, and even some building supplies stacked in small and not so neat piles. Other than that, it didn't look so different. Well, Shizune seemed to have brought in some large potted plants at some point. They looked rather heavy, but Misha wasn't so worried about how she got them in there, she was just sort of concerned that two were on either side of Mutou, had vines that spilled out of them and wrapped around each of his limbs, and were holding him about five feet in the air. And he still looked bored, even as he said, "I reckon you just need to take a few breaths, calm down, and then we start over."

Just another day in the life of Sheriff Mutou.

Shizune gnashed her teeth, and _spoke_, perfectly too, "There's nothing to start. If there was, I wouldn't want to. Just give me one good goddamn reason as to why I would want to in the first place!" She pointed an accusing finger at him, "Just what were you before this week? A miserable little pile of scientific trivia! I've had enough talk, so either release Misha or I shall have to resort to...," her expression darkened, "unsavory tactics."

Mutou sighed, "Lookie here, little Señorita, I've already been married once. I seriously doubt a pint-sized, four-eyed, sheltered little eighteen year-old with a God complex is going to make me squirm. Plant monsters notwithstanding."

Shizune's hands balled up into fists, and she had her arms straight down her sides. She leaned forward in a menacing way, her teeth bared, "I'll split you like a banana! I'll make a feast for the rats out of you!"

Mutou narrowed his eyes, and gave her a snarl that could rival Clint's, "No child left behind."

Shizune let a frustrated yell loose, then walked over to another plant that flanked her desk. She snapped a twig off of it, then looked as if she was concentrating. The twig then became less rigid, flopping to the ground like a rope, and it grew longer. Shizune then strode over to Mutou, brandishing the branch like a whip. She lashed it at him, and the very edge struck him in the dead center of his forehead, leaving a strange red mark.

Then, what do you know, he suddenly split like a banana.

The skin just peeled away from him, and his muscles followed. The vines at his limbs let go, and what was left plopped onto the floor in a mushy red pile, all still draped in his trademark coat.

Shizune leaned back into a peel of shrieking laughter. As she did, all the file cabinets in the room began to shake. It was a little at first, but it grew, and grew, and grew until the doors on them were snapping open and shut, as if something were trying to escape.

Shizune was doubled over, the last of her laughter escaping from her stomach, and she picked her head up, an evil smirk smeared across her face. Still bent over, she stretched out her arms to her side, and whispered, "Yes."

"Take him."

The cabinet doors were flung open, and the drawers were slammed out as far as they could. An insane amount of rats began to pour from them, making each cabinet look like a demented fountain. The gushing tide of them rushed to Mutou's remains, their excited squeaks feeling like needles sticking your ear drums.

Misha quietly pushed the door closed, and started to stagger back to her dorm room.


	8. Chapter 7

Sleep didn't help. It might have made things worse. She didn't even know how she made it into the shower. She sat there, staring at her hands, trying to make sense out of the jumble, the pile, no, the puddle of vomit that stained her mind. When her conscious mind had gone off to bed last night, it gave the unconscious one the reins again. Like before, her unconscious mind kept picking at the scabby mass that had been thrust upon her the past week, giving her no real break. When she woke up, she'd found that her unconscious mind hadn't done anything but leave a mess for her to clean up. Fragments of conversations, single frames of events, shards of emotional states were strewn all over the place. The vast amount of information, which had been gathered over days, was all right in front of her, all at once. Almost one whole week was compressed into a small time frame, about the same amount of time it would take to ready a hammer for a swing, then crash it into your own skull. It contrasted heavily with the regular flow of reality, and it felt like she was in a tug of war match between the past six days and the past six seconds.

She was out of the shower now. She didn't know when that happened, but she hoped she actually cleaned herself instead of just sitting there like an idiot. She was looking into a mirror. The usual dark circles that accompanied such stress were there.

In her room, trying to button her shirt. Her trembling hands had already pulled a button free. Why bother?

Well, what else was there to do? _She'd _be suspicious if she suddenly stopped showing up. If there was an answer, Misha sure as hell couldn't see it. Her brains were far too scrambled. Can ya blame her, you judgmental fuck?

No, that guy giving her that weird look by the front door didn't deserve that comment, even if it was only in her mind. She pushed by him, and headed to class.

Oh, God. _Class._

What in the hell was she doing? Fuck _her_ being suspicious, she should just _run._ Just run screaming to the bus stop and never look back.

And leave everything like this?

Well, this was no time to disappoint. Especially when it came to Mutou.

She only barely made it into the bathroom. She threw up into a toilet, then stood retching over it, the following dry heaves making her feel like she was getting pummeled in her guts.

"Not real... it wasn't real... that's impossible...," she whimpered to herself. But she was neither listening or caring.

She rinsed her mouth out and looked in the mirror. It took every ounce of self-restraint she had to not smash it.

She hated that face. It no longer looked human. She looked like a clown. Ha ha. Misha's mind wanders again, and everything goes to shit. Not funny anymore, really. It was an old joke, one that paraded into class every day, slamming the door open in a non-deserved triumphant manner, its welcome more than just worn out.

She stood outside the door to class 3-3. It was open, with no teacher. Nobody would probably suspect a thing until at least halfway through the first period. That's probably why Shizune was looking so smug. She looked like the queen of the classroom. She hadn't caught sight of Misha yet.

Someone asked Misha to move, she was blocking the door. She didn't. They asked louder. Misha whirled around on her heel and pointed a finger in their face. They would have excuse her, she needed to get something...

Cold, steely fingers on her shoulders. Grabbing her from behind. The cold numbed her completely. She put up no fight, and she let herself get turned around. She was looking straight into Shizune's face.

Shizune's smile was sweet. Sticky sweet, like liquid that melted off an ice-pop. It got stuck to your hand on a nasty summer day, humid as all hell. You couldn't see it, but it was there, you felt it, and you kept trying to wipe it off. It was catching dirt. Now you went and smeared it on your clothes, attracting bees. A whole swarm. A whole hive. No where to run; you were stuck in a field. You'll tire out before those little bastards do.

Shizune steered Misha across that field, over to her desk, and sat her down. She preened Misha a bit, who hadn't really done a good job getting ready that morning. Misha felt like the prized doll of a little girl, one who tore the wings off of flies at times.

When all was said and done, Shizune sat down, and turned to face Misha, [Just one more day. Pretty exciting, isn't it?]

Misha nodded. Her face was blank. She was just going with the flow.

Shizune looked around the classroom, then signed, [Hey, we might be able to sneak off before class starts. What do you say?]

Misha signed slowly, [Not today.]

[What? Why not?]

Aw crap. All set for the big date and she forgot all her cash. And her tire iron.

Misha gulped. [I'm not feeling up to it today, Shizune.]

Shizune drew back, and looked a bit troubled. Misha wondered why, and then realized she didn't use their made up sign for "Shicchan." Misha kept talking, trying to keep everything from falling to pieces, [I think I might have eaten something bad, I don't know, I just feel sick.]

There was no way in hell she was letting herself be boxed in a room alone with this bitch. _No way._

Shizune reached over and put a hand on Misha's forehead. Misha tried not to scream.

Shizune pulled back, [You don't have a fever, but...,] she thought hard, and then gave Misha an apologetic look, [I hate to say it, but you _do_ look pretty terrible today.] She reached into her pockets and whipped out that sweet smile again, so fast you couldn't even see her draw, [How about you lie down in the nurse's office? Maybe I can sneak off to town around lunch and grab you something? Maybe a parfait to go?]

[It would melt. Shicchan.] She remembered that time.

Shizune looked troubled again, [But Misha...]

"Look, I don't want to!" She stood up as she exclaimed this, signing all the while. She broke eye contact with Shizune, and saw that the entire class was now staring at her.

Hanako's voice crept through the staring eyes, only barely audible, "But Misha, that's your friend, right? Being with her makes you happy?"

Miki piped up, "Yeah, Misha, calm down. You just aren't right when you're separated from Shizune."

Shizune stood up slowly, peering at Misha over the rims of her glasses, batting her eyes, a cute little smile on her face. Her hands were clasped together in front of her chest.

Misha began to back up as everyone started to crowd her.

"Yeah, come on Misha, it's only a half-day today. You can do it!"

"Shizune would be so lonely if you didn't go with her."

Misha's back pushed up against the window.

"Don't make our rep do all that work by herself!"

"It's just one more day to the festival, you can do it!"

Shizune stopped a foot away from Misha. She leaned forward towards Misha, balancing on the balls of her feet.

Someone tittered. "They look so cute together!"

"I couldn't imagine a world where they were apart."

Misha vomited. All down Shizune's front.

Shizune leaped back, and everyone gasped. Shizune held her arms out to the side and stared at the front of her shirt in disbelief for several seconds, before suddenly getting hit by a spasm of realization, and ripping pages out of her notebook in a futile attempt to use the pages as a towel.

Misha clasped her hands to her mouth, muttered an apology along with something about going to see the nurse, and bolted out of the room.


	9. Chapter 8

She stopped and spun around.

Nothing.

Wait. To the right.

She jogged towards the T-junction in the hallway.

If there was something there, it was gone now.

Misha slumped against the wall, holding her head in her hands. She hadn't gone to the nurse at all; that's what she would be expecting her to do. She had to keep moving. There was no way she could allow herself to be caught by Shizune.

Another skittering sound. Misha perked her head up.

She felt it. _She was being watched._

Keep moving. She had to keep moving.

She started for the library. She twisted down random hallways, attempting to throw off whoever was behind her. At first, it didn't feel like it was doing much, that creepy feeling just seemed to be stuck to her back like an annoying itch she just couldn't reach. It lessened over time, but she couldn't tell if it was because she was truly shaking them off, or if they were just getting better at masking their presence.

After snaking through the hallways for an entire hour, she peeked into the main area of the library. Once she saw that the coast was clear, she slipped in quickly, and ran to the counter.

Yuuko actually wasn't surprised for once. She spotted Misha far off, and gave her a disapproving look until Misha practically flopped on top of the counter. "Whoa, hey, calm down!" Yuuko's authoritative voice wasn't too, well, "authoritative," but it still got Misha to look up. She only locked eyes with Yuuko for an instant, before she began to twist and spin her head in every direction possible without snapping her neck. Misha wasn't sweating, only because she'd already poured out everything she had to give. Her hair was a complete disaster, with pieces of her "drills" sticking out like tendrils or antennae. Damn, she used powerful hair spray. Could probably stop a speeding train. Yuuko didn't really think it was all that possible for Misha to get anymore pale, but there she was, nearly transparent. Yuuko put a hand to Misha's head, and pulled back, unable to hide the fact that she was disgusted by how clammy Misha was.

Every breath Misha took shook her visibly, and they sounded like an old vacuum struggling on the fringe of a rug, "Did... Did... Shizune... come through... here...?" She almost planted her face into the counter, but she managed to brace herself.

"What happened?" Yuuko leaned in closer.

Misha grabbed the front of Yuuko's shirt and pulled her until their faces were only centimeters apart, "Did... Shizune... come through here?"

"N-n-n-no!"

Misha pushed Yuuko back and let go. Yuuko let out a yelp and recoiled for a moment, before straightening her shirt and thrusting a finger into Misha's face, "What the hell is your problem?! I'm not going to let you just push me around like that!"

"Wahaha... ha ha... heh haaaaaaaaa~...," what do you know, even Yuuko could stand up for herself. Do you know how it is to feel like the biggest coward out of everyone you know? Including acquaintances? To be too mushy to stand up to even the smallest problems? To be the person who absolutely _no one_ can count on?

I sure as hell hope not. You're a better person for it if you don't.

Yuuko dipped into a look of horrified awe as the last of Misha's laughter trailed off like an engine slowly dying. It was that face that finally got Misha to straighten up. "I'm sorry, Yuuko, it's been pretty crazy the past couple of days."

"Uh-huh." She didn't look impressed. Still, "So, did everything go okay yesterday?"

Misha bit down hard and stifled a laugh. Not really a laugh. More like a madman trying to crawl up out of her stomach and take her brain by the reins. "I'd rather not talk about it."

Yuuko looked sad. "Oh, are you alright?" she was almost cooing, immediately and unconsciously moving to comfort Misha.

Misha put up a hand. "Um... actually, I wanted to ask you about something from yesterday. Not _that._ About... the woods."

"The woods?" That one caught Yuuko off-guard.

Misha took a breath. She didn't know why she was asking, but at the same time, she didn't know why she wouldn't, "Yeah, you said there were stories about the woods, and that's why you took the job here."

Yuuko's face was scrunched up in an expression of both confusion and worry, "Well, there's just a few stories about, well, a 'shadow' over those woods. Like ghosts, vicious animals, and stuff like that. Well, maybe not really ghosts, per se, there's only a few haunted stories, but more like those woods, or parts of them, don't really... I don't know, _accept_ people. As in every animal there will attack, unprovoked, too." She then switched to a serious face, "And _just stories._ I don't actually _believe_ in that stuff, so don't go poking fun or anything."

Misha knotted her fingers up in her hair. Maybe it wouldn't have been so good if Yuuko was a real believer in that stuff, it could have been taken as a sign of her being a bit unhinged. But at the same time, Misha herself was starting to wonder about those woods.

About that clearing.

*Scritch*

Misha whirled around.

Nothing.

When she turned back, she said, "Um, is there any other place we can talk? Someplace private?"

Yuuko sighed, "I'm _working_ Misha. I really can't."

"_Please. _You don't have an office or anything like that where we can talk?"

Yuuko looked Misha over carefully. After several moments of internal debate, "Alright, _fine._ Over here." She walked back towards a door, beckoning for Misha to follow. Misha walked with short, quick steps, and kept throwing glances over her shoulder all the way until they stepped into the office.

Well, it was an"office" in name only. The room was only a bit wider than a closet, and could only fit a tiny table with a monitor perched on top. The thin and rickety legs of the table looked as if they could only barely handle the meager load of the screen, keyboard and mouse, so the actual desktop was sitting on the floor. There were a few filing cabinets pushed up against the walls, the only other furniture being the cheap folding chair in front of the desk and whatever little piles of books you could fashion into seats. The room was the epitome of utilitarian, with a dash of useless; no serious work could have ever been accomplished in that tiny room and lit by the bare bulb in the ceiling. That was probably why the screen was open on a web page showcasing three articles, one about a man's story about strange events at one Dolphin Hotel, another about an entire haunted town in Maine, and one about the "Legend of Fred Chu."

Yuuko quickly ran over and closed it. She glanced back at Misha, "Don't judge."

Misha just shrugged and plopped herself on a pile of books. "I'd be the last one to judge you, Yuuko."

Yuuko spun her desk chair around to face Misha. "So, what about the woods?"

Misha thought hard. "Are there any stories, about, say, plant monsters~?"

"Plant monsters?"

"Plant monsters."

"Eh, none that I really know off the top of my head. Wait. _Plant monsters?_ What kind of question is that?"

"Don't judge, Yuuko."

Yuuko grumbled, then suddenly perked up, remembering something. "Actually, there is one story, actually, it's really _the_ story about those woods. The one that starts it all."

Misha leaned forward, giving her entire attention to Yuuko.

Yuuko thought hard, trying to grab every detail and hand it over to Misha, "Long, long ago, there was a lord that ruled over this area. He had been intensely fighting with his brother for years over who was the rightful owner of the land and manor that was on it. The story behind their struggle is a pretty long one, but to keep it simple, the lord's brother was only an illegitimate half-brother, who rejected the lord's invitation to be the head of his guard and close second. This half-brother wanted it all, and very badly. He managed to gather a force around him, mainly through claims that he was the rightful heir to the manor and lands. However, he was never able to defeat the lord. There was one seemingly final battle where in which the half-brother managed to not only siege but break through into the main manor grounds, almost stealing away with the lord's wife and young daughter. The lord challenged his half-brother to a duel in order to save them. The half-brother accepted, and there was a battle to the death in the manor courtyard." Yuuko seemed to be getting excited, and with a quick voice, "I think the track is actually supposed to be where the courtyard was."

Misha could only describe Yuuko's face as "ten seconds to fangirl squeal."

Yuuko continued, "The lord and half-brother fought for _two entire days. _That's no exaggeration, at least, that's how the story goes. The lord was a man of great strength, and the half-brother's mother was a witch. The men who belonged to the both the lord and half-brother watched this entire thing, standing around them in a circle, along with the wife and daughter. On the night of the second day, beneath a full moon, the lord dealt a terrible blow to the half-brother. However, the lord refused to deliver the final strike, and instead offered the brother the chance to repent. He would look past all of his transgressions, and give him the offer he made to him earlier, so they could both watch over the land. But the half-brother laughed in the lord's face, and instead used the last of his energy to curse the lands, the curse seeping from his spilling blood into the soil. The curse was that the very lands that the lord ruled over would turn against him, the forests would swallow anyone who entered, the animals would all be mad with rage, the winds would never cease, and there would always be terrible storms. At the half-brother's dying breath, the curse enacted."

Yuuko stopped to take a breath, and Misha asked, "So, that's why the woods don't, um, accept people~?"

Yuuko shook her head, "No, that's only the first part."

Misha wished she had gone to the bathroom before all this.

Yuuko kept going, "The lord's people were suffering terribly. They couldn't cultivate the lands, heck, they couldn't even travel safely. The lord was out of options, so he sent word far and wide of his plight. This reached a rogue witch, who was wandering the world with no real sense of direction or purpose. She came from far in the west, and had come to Japan for really no reason. Some say it was simply to spite those in power, just to be a foreigner on our soil."

"So, she was kinda a bitch~?"

Yuuko nodded sagely, agreeing with Misha, "Yeah, she was kinda a bitch. Her name was Larena, and she described herself as a master of the elements. People actually don't know if that's what she called herself since before all that or if she just picked up that title in order to snag the job. Two things were certain though: Larena really did have great powers over nature, and she also really needed the money and a place to stay. Helping out a prominent Japanese lord would also probably go a long way in helping her reputation as well.

"The lord accepted Larena's help, offering her a place to stay, money, even a bit of power. Larena then traveled alone into the heart of the woods, and disappeared for three weeks. Everyone thought her lost, until one day, the forest _opened._"

Misha sat back a bit, somewhat confused, "Opened?"

Yuuko nodded, "Yes, literally opened. Trees bent backwards, animals ran, and the ground was smooth in a straight path from the heart of the forest and right up to the manor. Larena had been victorious, and she marched right back up to the lord to claim her prize. She had defeated what was left of the half-brother's spirit, and had bound it to her own, making the forest bend to her will.

"What frightened people was that after a while, they realized that it bowed to Larena, and Larena alone. Still, she was happy, she had a place to live, plenty of wealth, and now, a real magical stronghold. She had a tower built," Yuuko went to point out a window, then became very depressed when she realized there weren't any, "out somewhere up that large hill outside. It wasn't really on the top, it was more like it jutted out of the hill, like a pipeline into the earth."

Misha started to feel nervous.

"Larena had enormous power now, being that everything she already had was amplified. And even though she was, well, a bit of a screwball, she really didn't mess around with the lord, or the affairs of his people. Too much."

"What do you mean, too much?"

"Well, some people disappeared. And there were packs of wild animals that would roam the countryside. No one was able to see what Larena was up to either. Nobody wanted to go to those woods.

"Larena really didn't care about the people, or the lord, she only was researching or studying or experimenting off in her tower. She would sometimes appear at large engagements the lord would have, kinda like parties or weddings or stuff like that, but that was it.

"Until she met the lord's daughter."

Misha bit her lip.

Yuuko started where she left off, "Larena was... a bit different. And rumor has it, well, so was the lord's daughter. Larena became completely enraptured with her one evening. She just caught a glimpse of her and then turned it into a stare, kinda disturbed everyone. She then began to periodically visit her, so much so that lord asked Larena to teach her about the world outside of Japan. The lord wanted to raise the 'value' of his daughter, to make her more enticing to men he wanted to marry her off to."

Misha cocked an eyebrow, and Yuuko explained, "Well, political marriages. One family would marry into another, deals would be made, blah blah. It happened all over the world, it has different rules and customs, depending on the region, but it all pretty much comes down to trading. Trading people, for power. I know, I know, that sounds nuts, but it was just a thing that happened, and was accepted. Hell, it still kinda happens today, if you think about it. Rich and powerful families tend to marry into rich and powerful families."

Misha looked uncomfortable, "So they're all... related~?"

Yuuko grimaced, then gave Misha a pained smile, "Weeeeeeeell... kinda."

"Gross."

"Yeah. Anyway, Larena started to tutor the lord's daughter out of the manor after a while, all the way in her tower. The lord started to get suspicious, and hired spies to watch them. The spies reported that Larena planned to leave, taking the daughter with her. The lord was furious, and locked his daughter away in the manor, forbidding Larena to see her. The lord wanted to marry her off, not give her to Larena. Larena retaliated. I mean, she really flew completely off the handle. She turned the lands back against the lord, but the lord now had an ace up his sleeve: his own daughter. She stayed by the lord day and night, leaving him and those around him untouched. So Larena took her anger out on the people.

"The people cried and begged to the lord, but he was powerless. Any force that went into those woods was torn to pieces.

"The lord thought hard, and came up with a plan: he made it look like his daughter escaped. The daughter herself actually believed it, and ran straight to Larena, who let her through the woods. The lord followed his daughter into Larena's tower, where he confronted her and beat her in a fight.

"Larena wasn't killed, however. The lord took the injured sorceress and threw her into a well, more like a wet pit, and it was filled with rats. Larena was... well... eaten. After falling far enough to break her legs."

Misha twitched.

"Before she finally died, Larena did two things: first, was to control the rats to attack, but they were easily dispatched by the lord and his men, who were still up top. This used a lot of Larena's already fleeting energy, so when the rats turned back to her, she tried to bind herself to the land like the half-brother. It didn't work so well, she wasn't able to do as he did. However, it's said that her will is still in the very soil of this land, which is why there is that 'shadow' over the woods.

"The daughter was distraught, but the lord did not listen to her, and married her off as he planned. Unfortunately, she killed herself the day of the wedding."

Yuuko rubbed at her temples. The story was starting to strain her, and there was no wondering why. To call it depressing wouldn't even register as mild.

"The people still rejoiced though, and they threw a festival, even though the lord didn't condone it. He didn't stop it, but he sure as heck didn't feel like celebrating. The people got angry at the lord. They said that his turning away from their celebrations was the same as turning his back to the vile witch who planned to betray him. They said that without his strength, there would be danger. But no matter what, every year, the lord did not participate, all the way to his death. And even though the festival was a happy occasion, you would hear things, like people talking about strange animals, missing people and yeah, yeah, all the stuff that went on before. Just on that one night, though, the night that the lord did not lend his great strength to the people." Yuuko put a finger to her temple, "Actually, they kept doing that festival for a while. Like... wait, that's right!" Yuuko clapped her hands excitedly. "It's tomorrow! Misha?"

Misha was doubled over, her arms wrapped around her stomach and her eyes pointed at her toes, "There's got to be more."

"Misha..."

Misha snapped her head up, and practically spit the words at Yuuko, "How long was the lord weak? Just that night? How could this bitch come back? What would you need to do?"

"Whoa, what...?"

"Goddammit Yuuko, just answer the question!"

Yuuko gulped, and her words had the same gentle care that a man defusing a bomb would have, "Well, I guess the days up to the festival would be good. And, well, all that would be needed would be to give some life back to Larena."

Misha had to make very sure words and not more vomit would come spewing out of her mouth, "Life? Like blood?"

Yuuko looked at the floor, unable to look Misha in the eye, "There are some unofficial parts to that story, like Larena making a deal with some sort of other-worldy being, or becoming one. And that if anyone showed her love, she would show it back. But really, in only the way that she knew how. She would dedicate herself to that person, kind of like how she got wrapped up in the lord's daughter. But, that person would be Larena's."

Misha almost fell backwards off the pile of books she was sitting on, "In... in her tower~?"

Yuuko meekly nodded, "Yeah, in her tower."

Misha stood up and started to pace. "What could be done? What the hell would you have to do to stop that?!"

"Misha, it's just a..."

Misha shot Yuuko a glare. Yuuko caved, "Well, the lord was a very strong man. He was able to beat Larena, on her own turf. He had to sneak in, but still..."

"A strong man?" Misha did a mock flex of her muscles. "Like a... manly man~?"

"Well, yeah, I guess, someone who wouldn't be so easily swayed by, er, 'feminine wiles,' I guess? Maybe they wouldn't have to be so strong, just someone who wouldn't cave in to charm. There's a part where Larena tries to seduce the lord, but he was able to see through her 'vile, poisonous female tongue.'"

Misha grabbed her head and looked up at the ceiling. "Oh, oh God, _no... please..._"

"What? Misha, what is...?"

She was cut off by Misha running out the door, throwing a, "I'll be right back!" over her shoulder.

_(A quick run later...)_

Misha stood panting outside the door. She took everything she had left and slammed her fist into it, again and again, as hard as she could. She didn't stop, she just stared into the crudely drilled peephole and kept knocking. She half expected all the noise would draw some attention, but it looked as if no one else lived in this hallway. Not that she would have cared anyway.

Her persistence paid off. After about twenty minutes, there was the sound of way too many locks being undone. The door opened a crack, and a voice shrouded in garlic snaked out, "Yeah, yeah, I heard ya the first hundred times, wha'da'ya waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Misha kicked the door open easily; he'd forgotten to use his chain lock. She grabbed him by his shirt, and dragged him down the stairs.

The boys in the common room would later say, no, they had no idea why Mikado had run in then dragged out a screaming, cursing, and flailing Kenji Setou.

* * *

_You stare blankly at the now empty teacup in your hands._

_Dempsey reaches over the table, takes it, and fills it while giving you a wink, "Oh yes, this shit is about to get _really fuckin' crazy._" _

_He pushes it back to you, and you happily take it._


	10. Chapter 9

Misha always knew that Kenji was a bit strange, hell, everyone knew Kenji was a bit strange, but she didn't know that he was borderline _insane._ The shit that spewed out of his mouth when she was dragging him back to library... nothing could describe it, rationally at the very least. Moon base, secret feminist HQ, Yamaku was a front, Shizune was the leader of a secret cabal... well, the last one was kinda right. Misha couldn't help but think of what had happened to her classmates over the past week, and she hoped that Larena didn't have the ability to control minds.

She stopped suddenly, still on the concrete pathway that lead towards the main building, and Kenji tried to crawl away from her. Misha held onto his collar, lost in thought, and it looked like she was pondering while her dog was straining to get away from its master. While swearing. A lot.

Everyone had been acting kind of weird, herself included. Mutou... just what had happened to him? Odd didn't begin to cover it. Actually, whenever Shizune touched her...

Misha shivered. She continued her walk, dragging Kenji along. It was whenever _Larena_ touched her. Shizune would never do that. Right? It was all Larena. It had to be.

And Shizune was trapped in there. Did she even know what was going on?

Misha couldn't leave her like that. No matter what had lead to this, no matter what kind of strains that she had with Shizune prior, no matter what Misha's own personal situation was, she wasn't going to let this go. This whole week she had done nothing but mope around, shuffling from one class to another, while her friend, her _best_ friend, was... she had no idea, but there was no way that it was good.

Shizune was her best friend?

She stopped again. Kenji didn't even bother trying to get away, instead he just sat on his haunches and panted.

It seemed kind of strange that she thought it strange, but, well, it was kind of strange. Misha _did_ have a life outside the school. It had deteriorated a bit, actually, more than just a bit, but she did know people outside of Yamaku. Kiko, Yuki, Shinichirou, a few other kids she had grown up with, old classmates, old friends, people she used to see all the time. But as time moved on, she had drifted from these people, even before she even thought about Yamaku. These were people that she had known for years, some for even twelve of her eighteen years, but this one bespectacled girl who she had known for about two and a half had worked her way deep into Misha. When did that happen?

It happened after Shizune tracked her down. After Shizune kept trying to talk to her. She'd never been chased before. Had it really had that much of an effect on her?

Weird. Before all of this, she thought that her past life, as melodramatic a term as it was, was going to be her whole life. But it wasn't. Here she was. What was after all of this? If she saved Shizune, would it just happen all over again? She would just forget, and become someone new? There was more after this, so maybe it was possible.

Different from then, different in the future. From version one, to two, to three. A weird, floaty, and detached feeling spread from her fingertips, to her head, and all the way down to her toes. Just who was she now? Who was the real Misha? One, two, or three? Was there going to be a four? Were the sequels ever going to get played out? At what point is it socially acceptable to lose track of who and what you are? Do you light a candle for your past self, or do you just shelve it, throw it in a tired heap of old junk in the attic?

She was standing on a cliff edge, gathering up the courage to peer past her feet and see if there was either an epiphany or certain doom waiting for her below. There was too much fucking fog, regardless.

She shook her head. No time to get caught up in all of this. She yanked on Kenji's collar, and he fell in time with her steps. It wasn't a bad train of thought. She would have to pursue it further. But now was the time to ensure that there was a future to ponder about.

Besides, there was no way in hell that she was going to be anyone's doll.

Misha only trusted herself to get her hair right.

She let out a giggle.

Kenji piped up, "And now you're giggling to yourself. Anyone ever tell you that you come off as a bit unhinged?"

_(A brisk walk/drag balk to the library later...)_

Yuuko had made it back up to the front desk, filing papers or something or other. It was about closing time, and the small, quiet smile she had on gave the impression she had just finished her end-day work a bit early. That is, until she spotted Misha with Kenji in tow, and suddenly she had a lot of stuff to do. This didn't slow Misha in the slightest, "Okay, I'm back~! Do you think this will work?" She pushed Kenji into the counter, sending his glasses clattering across the desk.

Yuuko scooped them up, and her voice carried that cautious tone again, "Um, what will work?"

Misha froze up. "Um, could we go back in the office?"

Yuuko looked as if she was going to protest, but relented, "Alright, but Misha, this is starting to worry me." She handed Kenji's glasses back over.

Kenji inspected them carefully, the moved to walk away before Misha slung an arm around his shoulder, "Not done with you yet."

Kenji rolled his eyes behind his glasses and walked into the back room with Misha, and Yuuko followed after a few moments. After setting up a book pile for Kenji and waiting for Yuuko to be seated, Misha spoke, "Okay~! So according to the story, we need someone who can resist Larena, and I think he will work!"

Yuuko fidgeted, "Um, Misha, even when I was young I was never into that whole live-action thing, so, no. And please don't let this be a joke on me."

Kenji let out an exasperated sigh, "You two can stop being so coy about this. I always figured I would be found out. But I'll let you know I have trained myself _vigorously_ to ignore pain, so this really is just a waste of time for all of us."

Yuuko's eyes shot back and forth in between the beaming Misha, standing straight and tall with her hands on her hips and her chest puffed out, and the slouched over Kenji, looking at the floor as he talked, letting a little bit of gravel into his voice, acting the bad ass, twirling an unlit cigarette between his fingers. She started to cry silently when she realized that her crazy person problems had just doubled.

Misha started to get nervous herself, "Yuuko, please, will this work?"

In between sniffles, "I don't know... I just want to close the library and go study... you two are starting to scare me..."

Kenji shook his head at Yuuko, and Misha gave him a look, which unfortunately he couldn't see. Misha then took a deep breath and turned back to Yuuko, "Yuuko, you don't have to believe me, have to understand, or anything, just as a... hypa... hypo..."

Kenji tossed her an alley-oop, "Hypothetical."

Misha clapped her hands and pointed at Kenji, "Hypothetical! So, could he get past Larena's influence?"

Yuuko nodded quietly, wiping at her tears and looking at the floor, "I guess."

"Get past what now?" Kenji tugged at Misha's skirt.

"Um, well, wahaha~, you see," Misha punctuated with a nervous laugh, "I kinda might have accidentally called a monster out of the woods and she possessed my best friend and now she wants to take me away to I don't know where and do things to me that I'd rather not think about because she, the monster she, not Shizune she, will treat me like a little girl who can't think for herself and essentially make me her pet which is really scary and I don't want and that also might entail making my best friend do things that she really doesn't want to do because that's not the type of person she is, and trust me, I know, and please don't ask how. It would also ruin the festival." She scratched the back of her head, "We put a lot of work into that festival."

Kenji shook his head and held it in his hands, "Women."

Yuuko looked up, "Wait, women?"

Kenji looked in her general direction, "Yeah, you heard me, what you going to do about it? Stick bamboo under my finger nails? Ha! Women don't have the stomach for tor..."

Yuuko picked up a used napkin from her lunch and stuffed it into Kenji's mouth, and then turned to Misha, who was looking at her toes, shuffling nervously. Yuuko moved to put a hand on her shoulder, but stopped, which made her feel a bit guilty and ashamed, but nothing compared to what she was going to ask next, "Misha, the 'friend' you were asking about..."

"I said don't ask." Misha's muffled voice sounded as if it was coming from deep under the floor, buried next to her confidence and dignity.

Yuuko caved, and hugged Misha, cradling her head and stroking her hair a bit. Yuuko couldn't really tell you why she did that, not in words anyway. She had never been in Misha's position. She had never had to go through what Misha was dealing with. But she saw there was a look of hopelessness in her eyes. A lost look, like someone looking into the distance, but unable to make out any shapes, it was nothing but a smeared horizon of blurs. It was the direction you were walking in, and there was no way to slow your steps. You had to make out those shapes quick, make sense of them as best you could, so that way you would come out the other side with as few scars as possible. There was no getting through unscathed, it was just a matter of pushing through intact, and recognizable.

That, she understood perfectly.

Misha started to cry silently, and the two of them stayed like that for a few moments. Kenji pulled the napkin out of his mouth, but turned his eyes away and didn't look. He was never one for handing out pity, anyway, mainly because he wasn't the type who accepted it, tough-guy facade or not.

Misha mumbled into Yuuko's chest, "I'm so sorry about this. I hate being such a mess. And I don't want to get other people messy."

Yuuko nodded, "It's alright, you've gone out of your way to make people happy with the festival. I don't think anyone will think any less of you." She took a deep breath, and moved Misha away, holding her shoulders at arm's length, "We all have our low points, just like I was saying yesterday. There a few ways you can go about it: you could just wallow in your despair, you could accept there is a problem, and not do anything about it, or you can take it on. The thing is, none of those options feel right. Ever. They cut deep, like pushing through razor wire. But you have to do it. You _have_ to. There's no way around it."

"It just hurts so much..."

"Yes. Oh, God yes. But if you know that, that means you know you have to push through. You have to find the strength."

Misha shook herself free of Yuuko's grip, "Just what does that mean? I already know that! _You_ said that! Find _what_ strength? Where?"

Yuuko shrugged. She looked at Misha's shocked face and said, "Yeah, I know, it sucks. But that's how it is. I really didn't even know until it was over. Heh, it still really isn't over. But it is what it is." She sidled past Kenji to the door, "Now, if you excuse me, I have to close the library." She looked back over her shoulder to Misha, "I know the stress is killing you. But if you just take a deep breath, you'll be okay. Just forget about the woods and _focus._ You'll be fine."

Yuuko walked out the door, and Kenji thrust his hands into his pockets and followed suit. There Misha was, alone again. No one believed her.

Wow. Could she really have made everything up?

She tended to get wrapped up in things.

She needed to focus. Like Mutou said.

This was draped in front of her eyes as she walked out of the office. It caused her to bump into Yuuko, who was staring towards the double doors leading into the library, doe-eyed and terrified. She had an iron grip on Kenji's sleeve, preventing him from walking, because he couldn't make out what the brown blob by the door really was.

Well, that settled that. Yuuko could see it, and Misha didn't have the kind of imagination to make _this_ shit up. She turned back to what they were looking at.

It was Mutou.

Sort of.


	11. Chapter 10

"There are two types of rats in this world, amiga. The first type obeys the Queen, and gets to live a long and happy life. The second type runs around behind her back, and are squashed like the useless vermin they are."

Misha blinked. It was Mutou's voice, albeit lilting and a bit scratchy. As for the rest of the thing in front of them being one-hundred percent Mutou, that was a debatable matter.

At the very least, it was wearing his coat. The coat was draped on what was left of Mutou's gnawed bones and chewed up muscle, wearing no other clothing what so ever. It wasn't as if he was exposing himself, no no, because the body was also completely _covered in rats._ They clung to him, and they climbed him, crawling in and out of various tears in Mutou's left-over flesh. In fact, the rats seemed to be making up for whatever muscle had been eaten away. His head, for instance, had no face, and the skull was bared. No lips, no eyelids, no tongue, just some tufts of bloody hair stuck on top like a macabre toupee. Instead, in the eye sockets poked out the faces of two rats. The lips were formed out of tails, and so was "his" lolling tongue. The worst part though were the vocal chords, where Misha could see two rats sitting on either side of the cluster, tugging them in a way that reminded her of stagehands opening a curtain to a play.

The fingers were made of rat tails. The rats clustered on his arms bulged his coat out like biceps. Watching the creature start to walk towards them was quite the sight. The ultimate form of teamwork, if you will.

Misha looked back to Yuuko, and wished that she really had made up all this crap in her mind. Well, at least Yuuko believed her now.

Hang in there, Misha!

Kenji threw up his hands, "Oh, what the _fuck. _This just turned into a bad episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

Yuuko and Misha both shot him a confused look. Apparently he was able to sense their faces despite his near-sightedness, "I mean, we went to the _librarian_ in order to figure out how to beat some occult shit."

Yuuko blinked. Slowly. "You... you _watch that show?_"

Kenji nodded gravely, "It is my duty to keep up on any and all propaganda that you feminist scum produce. It's a dirty job, and hell, and damn painful one, I mean, Whedon sucks," Yuuko flinched at that, "but by God, someone's gotta do it."

Misha poked in, "Um, what's a 'buffy'~?"

"I'd actually say this is more like Harry Potter meets Bad Taste," Yuuko added with a sour look at Kenji, focusing mostly on his out of season scarf. She probably still hadn't gotten over Firefly.

All three of them were snapped out of their sudden flurry of references when a book was hurled at them. They could only _just_ get out of the way. It flew so fast, that when it hit wall behind them, it actually cracked it.

All three of them darted their eyes to the book, now on the floor. The title was, "List of Guidelines and Rules for Yamaku High."

The Mutou monster pointed at Kenji and growled, "Keep your voice down, and no swearing in the library!" It raised other rulebooks in its hand in a menacing manner, "Don't make me throw the book at you."

Kenji slapped his face with an open palm, "It's enough that you're going to eat me or whatever. Spare me the library puns." He pulled his hand down, lowering his glasses, and shot the rat-monster a glare over his rims, "Because then I'd have to _check you out._"

Yuuko started to wail. Misha couldn't tell if it was because there was a monster, or because of the puns. Either way, she acted quickly, and grabbed both her and Kenji by the arms, and dragged them towards the rows of bookshelves.

The Mutou-monster bellowed and started to stomp after them. It could barely keep its balance, and it swayed side to side like a drunk with every step that it took. The rats squeaked excitedly, looking forward to their next meal.

Partway down the rows of high bookshelves there was a small space, where the row would end for a few feet before starting up again. It was there so that students could switch what aisle they were perusing without having to walk the entire length of the row. Kenji dragged all three of them to a stop there, "Wait, wait, wait! It can't get all of us!"

"Y-y-you want us to split up?!" Yuuko stammered.

The sound of the rat-monster approaching was getting louder. Kenji whipped his head around to both Yuuko and Misha, "Yes! Just confuse it, and we all make for the door! Is there a fire exit?"

Yuuko nodded, "Yeah, over on our left, all the way down."

"Make for either one, we'll meet up later." Kenji started to walk to the right, looking to make a dash to main door.

"Can you even see?" Misha was more than a bit nervous.

Kenji stopped and shook his head, "Oh, _come on,_ I've been wandering around like this my whole HOLY SHIT!"

The rat monster was tearing off groups of rats from its body, and now throwing them right at the group of three. They scampered over the walls, their teeth bared. Kenji ran forwards, toward the front, and the small pockets of rats stopped going after Misha and Yuuko and scrambled after him, leaping at his face while popping out of the bookshelves.

Misha ran down the aisle she had started on, hoping to reach the fire exit, or if necessary, do a U-turn by the bean bag chairs. Yuuko also ran for the fire door, but one aisle over to the left.

Both of them had made some decent headway when ol' Ratty-Mutou reached the separation in the aisles. Misha turned to look back at the monster, but that was a mistake. The monster reached its arms above its head, and with the hands grabbing shelves, started to pull. Misha couldn't help but watch with a disgusted fascination as Mutou's torso started to literally rip itself up from its legs. The flesh stretched, and slowly started to pull apart, like if you took a piece of already chewed gum and pulled on two ends of it. There was a sucking sound, the sound of what little pockets of air pressure Mutou's mutilated body had left, popping and becoming exposed. Bits of organs connected the two pieces, but rats, hanging by their tails, which in turn were being held in the mouths of other rats, bit at them until they were severed, with their liquified contents splashing on the floor. Half of the intestines hung out of the bottom of the torso; the rest trailed behind the severed legs like leaky coattails.

On the lower half, one lone rat stood on its hind legs, and after looking around at its fellow rats, pointed forward, letting out a squeak. The legs then turned and stomped after Yuuko. Meanwhile, the torso, using its arms, started to swing down the aisle towards Misha, laughing all the while.

Misha started to backpedal, but the torso was above her in no time. Smelly fluid dripped out of its bottom, a drop or two getting in her eyes as she gazed up at it, slack jawed. She then instinctively closed her mouth and turned, but the torso let go and landed on her back. She shrieked, and ran towards the fire door, while the rat tailed hands grabbed at her face. One managed to hook a finger in her jaw, and started to pull, making her bank hard and slam into a bookshelf. She bit down as hard as she could, and a second later, felt a warmth start to spread through her mouth, and there was something wriggling. The rat monster roared and pulled its hands back, giving Misha the oppurtunity to run for the fire door again. She was almost out of the aisle. A few more steps. Maybe Yuuko or Kenji...

Oh, fuck, no, no, no no no it had her by the FUCKING HAIR!

She burst into the beanbag area, with one ratty hand on each of her two front drills, trying to wrangle her like a professional bull rider. Her head was pulled back, and she was staring straight into the skull, gasping and taking blind steps forward, swinging her arms up at the torso as hard as she could.

"We won't take you," said Mutou, "Them, yes, but you, she _needs_ you..."

_Goddammit,_ those freaking rats in its throat...!

"MISHA! LEAN FORWARD! NOW!"

Misha gritted her teeth. She doubled over, and she felt the hair start to get pulled away. As she bent forward, she saw Yuuko running at her, a dictionary raised over her shoulder like a bat, her fury so powerful that her look alone could simply set something ablaze.

Chick shoulda played softball. Must've been to the cages more than once.

*TWAP!*

The rat monster didn't even scream, but it fell off of Misha as she crashed to her knees, each ratty hand taking more than just a few strands of her pink hair. She didn't have time to recover; she was suddenly thumped in the side by Kenji, swooping to pick her up onto her feet and save her from the charging pair of legs that were still chasing Yuuko. Misha managed to get up and keep Kenji's momentum, and was horrified to see that when she looked up at his face, there were rats biting into it. She started to rip them out, causing him to scream, but he offered no resistance. He knew the score.

The legs crashed into the flailing torso, and they tangled together. Yuuko screamed, "Help me! Help me push this over!" She was throwing all of her weight into one of the bookshelves flanking the creature.

Kenji released Misha, unfortunately dropping her right on her ass, but they both ran over and started to heave.

The shelf teetered, and the rat monster gazed up at its doom, hands feebly stretched upwards.

The shelf fell with a horrendous crash, and it knocked over the other shelves like dominoes.

The three of them staggered to the beanbags, flopped down in one apiece, and tried their damnedest to get their breathing under control. It really wasn't working too well.

"O...kay...so...Larena...is real?" Yuuko wiped at the sweat on her glasses.

Misha grabbed at her stomach, trying not to puke, "Yeah... do you... know how... to beat her?"

"Let me at her...," Kenji wheezed. "I totally got this shit..."

"No," Yuuko got wide-eyed, "I might have something..."

The shelf exploded upwards, and the rat monster stood, roaring hard enough to blow away the dust that had started to settle, showing that it had re-connected itself.

The trio sighed and rubbed their temples. Then, as if on cue, they all ran to the fire exit and slammed it open.

No alarm. Misha realized that, as well as there was no one outside. On a _Saturday._ And no one had been in the library.

It was becoming _her_ place. There was a dead feeling in the air. The wind was dry, and it rubbed at your skin like sand paper.

This place... soon it wouldn't _accept_ people.

No. She couldn't die. She couldn't fail. She couldn't let Yuuko or Kenji die.

That bitch was gonna pay.

Yuuko threw up a hand to point, and Misha followed with her eyes. The pool house. Why not. She grabbed Kenji's sleeve, guiding him.

Thank God the door was unlocked. They slammed it open, and Yuuko panted, "Find... hide... just hide..."

Too late.

The rat monster had Yuuko by the throat. Yuuko's eyes widened as she saw rats start to disengage and run down the arm at her face.

Mutou spoke, "The Queen just told me she wants to see how two of me mate."

"Oh, _fuck _that." Misha was surprised by her own voice.

She charged the creature, slamming into it as hard as she could. She managed to knock it off balance, and it let go of Yuuko, focusing on her. It grabbed her by the shoulders, and moved to toss her away, but Misha managed to wrap her legs around it. It still followed the motions, causing them both to stagger about before falling into the pool.

The chlorine stung her eyes. The rats were starting to drift away from Mutou's corpse, and she watched a few get sucked into the filter system. That, plus the mutilated body, was starting to turn the pool red.

She clawed her way to the surface, and caught sight of a horrified Yuuko, screeching, _"What the hell are you doing?!"_

This was at Kenji, who was feeling his hands over a few doors a fair distance away. He laughed, apparently finally finding the door he wanted, and he pushed his way inside.

Misha suddenly felt heavy. She looked in horror to see that the rats were panicking, and were climbing all over her before attempting to swim to the side. She frantically swiped at them, but she felt the monster grab at her leg. A guttural voice behind her started to beg, "No, help me, she needs you, I have to serve her, you don't _understand..._"

She saw Yuuko's terrified face before she was pulled back under.

Everything was so quiet.

Everything was so far away.

Sure, the sound of her breath bubbling away was loud, but that was just at first. It was getting so peaceful. Serene. Her floating hair transfixed her. The run had made her _so_ tired.

She started to close her eyes. Just a few minutes. Then she'd be good. She'd be able to deal with this then.

Just a few minutes...

She was yanked back to the surface, and she couldn't help but vomit this time. It was clear. _It was water._

Yuuko was frantically pulling her out, screaming at Kenji. She swatted at the rats on Misha, and managed to get most of them off.

The was a huge splash behind Misha, and she heard Mutou screaming. But Yuuko had pulled her pretty far, and now Misha was using everything she had left to clamber out of the pool. She looked back over her shoulder, and saw Mutou sloshing over to them, "his" rage making the air around her pulse. She collapsed onto Yuuko when the rats in the eye sockets focused on her.

But then, the rats looked up.

Kenji was standing by the pool. A long extension wire ran from the door he entered, which turned out to be the girl's locker room. It snaked across the floor, and connected to a hair drier he was holding.

The rat monster froze.

Kenji flicked the drier on. He smirked.

"Pool's closed, mutha fucka."

He tossed the hair drier into the pool.

The rats all screamed at once, the shrieks causing the three of them to bring their hands to their ears. Mutou's body thrashed, and rats fell off it in droves. None of them made it out. Slowly, the body started to sink; the rats that were helping it stand were dying and flaking off. After a few moments, the body was lifeless, and the dead rats floated away.

An eerie silence hung in the air. They all slowly lowered their hands, and Yuuko seized the opportunity, "Like I was saying, I might have something that can deal with Larena. I really haven't read up on this stuff in years, but I might be able to come up with something."

Misha spoke nervously, "Something?"

Yuuko gave her a serious look, "Yeah, just something." Yuuko stood.

Misha followed suit, and pulled at her hair. It was completely ruined. It hung straight and long, her drills gone after her foray into the pool, and it felt far thinner than it should, especially up front. It was still bubble-gum pink though, so that was something. Kinda.

She dropped her hands and kneaded them, unable to look Yuuko in the eyes, "I'm so sorry for getting you involved with this."

Yuuko huffed in an annoyed manner, but then put a hand on Misha's shoulder, "No one should have to do this alone." She gave Misha a small smile, and Misha returned it.

Misha then turned to Kenji, "I'm sorry to you too, Setou-san."

Kenji shrugged, "Eh, while I am kinda annoyed that you dragged me out of my room during my meditation time, especially without telling me what was going on, I probably would have taken this crazy bitch on at some point anyway." He extended a hand to Misha, "An enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Yuuko shot him a disapproving look while clicking her tongue at him. "Kenji, what the hell is wrong with you?"

But Misha took his hand, and gave him a firm shake. Smiling, she said, "Thanks."

Kenji smiled back. He then released her hand, then nodded to the pool, "We should probably get outta here quick."

Misha and Yuuko followed his glance to the pool, and Yuuko asked, "Why?"

*Pop!*

Yuuko and Misha gave confused looks at the blood that splattered on them. Then they looked back at the remains of the rats.

*Pop!*

*Poppopop!*

They both drew sharp breaths.

*POPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPO POPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOP!*

They ran, retching, out the doors and towards the library.

Kenji threw his hands into his pockets and followed.

"Women."


	12. Chapter 11

I've just realized that I haven't made a single anime reference. It's weird, because there's some Japanese literary references, but no anime. Not even a manga. This thing is also 51 pages long at this point, according to OpenOffice.

Huh.

Anyway...

No one had bothered to check out what happened in the library. At all. Beaten and weary, the three of them had climbed over the mess of the toppled bookshelves and followed Yuuko back to her office, and now Misha and Kenji were waiting patiently as Yuuko as searched for whatever the "something" was, tossing books and paperwork all over without a care.

Misha just stood and fidgeted nervously, occasionally running a hand through her ruined hair. It was taking quite a bit of effort for her not to lapse into another angsty monologue in her mind. She'd had enough of those, a whole week's worth. Worse than day old bread, but she was starving, so she kept biting down on it, hard as rocks _oh Goddammit!_

Yuuko knocked into a pile of books, which toppled onto Kenji, who was lying on the ground covering his eyes. He snapped up like a jack knife, moved to say something, but at the last second he just flopped back onto the ground. His face was marked here and there with band-aids. Luckily, the rat bites had been deep, but not so wide. Unluckily, they could only spray some generic disinfectant on the wounds, and just had to hope that the rats were the plague-bearing type.

Yuuko let out an excited gasp, and spun to meet Misha and Kenji's gazes. In her hands was a thick, leathery book. "Leathery," because the covers weren't smooth, but were quite rough, and they looked warped. If glanced at in the right angle, Misha could swear she could see the crude outline of a face.

Yuuko had been beaming happily at the book at first, but her faced darkened after a moment. "Ugh, I forgot how this thing feels."

Kenji rubbed a hand over it. "Feels beat up."

Yuuko shook her head. "No, it's... it's weird. I can feel _hatred_ from this thing, and _sadness._ It's not a 'happy' book."

Misha cocked her head. "'Happy' book?"

Yuuko bit at her lip. "It's really hard to describe. It's probably best if you just never touch this thing unless it's necessary."

"How does one come across an 'unhappy' book?" Kenji asked mockingly.

Yuuko set the book down next to the computer monitor and took a seat at her desk, turning her chair to face them. "An old college roommate just gave it to me. She was pretty strange, a good person, but very strange. We had a few history courses together, and we seemed to be into the same stuff, but she looked like she took it a bit too seriously. She told me one day that she was only going to the school to see if she could get information from 'our' side, with 'our' being everyone that wasn't her. She was Japanese, but studied in England. She said she needed to get away from there." She shrugged. "She said that Japan was much more private than England, being that the Association didn't have it's hooks sunk in yet. I have no idea what she was on about. Anyway, she didn't stay long, and on the last day we lived together, she just up and gave me this book, telling me to never show anyone unless it was an emergency, and that one day she'd want it back."

Kenji cocked an eyebrow, "And you just took it?"

Yuuko started to blush, "Well, I kinda thought it looked cool. And I could read some of it, so I would look at it sometimes. Until one night I had a guy come over, and I had it sitting out, and it kinda freaked him out, so he left, so I decided I should keep it here, where if someone found it I would say I confiscated it."

Kenji just stared at her. Misha pressed on, "So what can it do?"

Yuuko brought the book into her lap, and started to leaf through it. Every page was inscribed with bizarre looking symbols, each one colored blood-red. "We need to get Larena out of Shizune's body. There might be something in here that can exercise her. Once she's out, we might be able to make Larena's spirit flesh, and then we can kill it."

Kenji spoke up, "Have you ever done this before?"

Yuuko gave an embarrassed smile, "Erm, no. And no, before you even ask, I definitely have no concrete idea on what to do. But do you have a better idea?"

Kenji lay back down.

Yuuko went back to the book, "Thought so. Now, according to the story, Larena wasn't able to bind herself to the forest and land like the half-brother did, mainly because she was too busy lashing out with her remaining power during her death throes. That means she can return to the forest, but she'll be dormant again, so she'll want to stay flying around as a spirit, attacking us. Since none of us knows how to subdue a spirit, that means using the book to make her flesh then killing her is our best bet."

Yuuko's face darkened. Misha recognized the look she had. It was the look she wore when she had something to say, but didn't want to say it. Yuuko's brow was furrowed, she was biting her lip, and her hands were twitching about in her lap. Misha took a step over to her, but Yuuko shot her head up and locked eyes with Misha. Misha stood confused. Did she do something wrong?

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she turned. Kenji was wafting his garlic breath on her from this close a range, and it made her gag a bit. Kenji frowned for a moment, but then his faced loosened, and he gently steered Misha from Yuuko, and over his shoulder, "Go ahead. It'll be alright, just say it, Yuuko."

Misha cocked an eyebrow at Kenji, but turned back to Yuuko when she started to talk, "She would be flying freely about when we released her. Which means that, well, either Misha or I could be next."

Misha's eyes shot up her forehead, "Wait a minute! I thought to call her..."

"Yes," Yuuko interrupted coolly, "to _call_ her, you have to meet the right criteria. But once she's free, she can do almost whatever she wants. She does have some rules she has to go by, like she is essentially attached to Misha, but there aren't many, well, 'regulations.' In short, she has a goal, and she is going to do whatever she deems necessary to achieve it."

Misha thought hard. What was going to stop this bitch from swooping in and out of the three girls that were going to be present? They'd have to chant that thing from the book pretty quick.

There was a frantic rustling, and Misha looked to Yuuko. She was flipping through the pages quickly, getting more frustrated by the second. Misha started to get nervous, but even more-so when Kenji started to tighten his grip on her shoulder. As Yuuko grew more and more panicked, a cold feeling started to spread from the pit of Misha's stomach.

After a few minutes of this, Misha reached out meekly, "Yuuko? We can get this thing out of Shicchan, right? Yuuko?"

Yuuko flipped through the book faster. If she wasn't careful, she was going to start ripping out pages.

Kenji started to put himself between Misha and Yuuko.

Misha tried again, "We can, right~? Like, just say the magic words, and then poof! It's okay, right~?"

Yuuko snapped the book shut, but kept her face pointing downwards. She mumbled, "I don't see anything in here. Nothing I can read, anyway."

"What?" Misha's vision was getting a bit blurry. "What do you mean?"

Yuuko drew a breath, and then looked over Kenji's shoulder to Misha, "Misha, we... we can't."

The color drained from Misha's face.

"Misha, we're might have to kill Shizune."

There was a sound, like raging wind. It engulfed Misha completely. She felt lost. She couldn't feel Kenji's hand anymore. She couldn't even see him, everything was far too blurry. She didn't know what was going on until she felt the sudden pain in her knees. She was leaning forward, about to land smack on her own face, before Kenji recomposed himself and caught her. She continued to lean into him, but didn't make a sound. She stayed wrapped in her blurry cocoon, trying desperately to keep warm.

It took a few minutes, but Yuuko's voice managed to snip it's way to Misha, "I don't know. I really don't know. I have no idea what to say, I have no idea what to do, and I don't know if it will even work." Yuuko knelt down with them. "But..."

"But we have to...," Misha croaked. "We can't leave her."

It wasn't fair. What the hell. Just what the hell. Misha was who she was, and now, what, she was going to be punished for it? Kicked, beaten, humiliated, and forced to watch people die? All that was missing was for her to be spat on.

"But we have to." Her own voice was making her sick.

Was it her fault?

She pushed away from Kenji. "Yeah, we have to."

No. She got dealt a shit hand. She couldn't even bluff it.

No, that wasn't right. That would imply she couldn't do anything. That she _wouldn't_ do anything. She giggled a bit. She didn't even know how to play poker anyway. Screw this bitch. She took Shizune away, and for what? She claimed that she knew Misha? This is what Misha wanted, right? A fairy tale where everyone was bent over backwards until their spines snapped, just to paint the perfect scene? No, she never wanted this. Someone had taken her pain and used it as an excuse to dominate.

She thought about her uncle. Misha was too old to play pretend. It _wasn't_ pretend. It was Misha being Misha. The hell did he know? The man pounded fat slugs of I.W. Harper into his brain the way a shitty carpenter would slam nails into a rotting wood deck, claiming that it was just fine, if not better than it used to be. In the end, they both fell, and it was always a mess. She wasn't a mess. Maybe she wasn't perfect, maybe she had scabby knees, but she was smart enough not to look for wisdom at the bottom of a bottle.

And Misha, being Misha, was going to do what she wanted. It didn't need to be dictated, didn't need to follow some perfect plan, and it existed, it was real. It wouldn't mean anything if anyone gave her instructions, and she was nothing without it. She was going to build something with her own two hands, something that she would be proud of.

She deserved it. She didn't beat anyone down. She didn't kick the dog.

She wasn't a pushover, either.

_[Come on, we both know you're tougher than this.]_

_"Mikado, please, you just need to focus."_

She stood up. It hurt to stand. Oh, God, did it hurt. There are people out there with stone faces and hearts of iron. Misha wasn't one of them. She was flesh and bone, and she could be ripped and torn. But she still stood up.

The others rose as well. Yuuko put a hand on Kenji's shoulder, "Kenji, if Larena comes into me..."

Kenji whipped around, "Wait, what?!"

Misha spoke up, "Setou, we're serious."

Kenji flicked his head back and forth in between them, before he let out a resigned sigh. He cradled his head in his hands, "Fine. But Misha, stop calling me Setou."

Misha giggled again. "Setou's a stuffy name anyway."

Kenji smirked back. "Say what you want about Setou's, but Setou's don't run."

_(A short time later...)_

They pushed open the door to the track shed. There weren't many athletic clubs at Yamaku, so there wasn't much equipment for any other sports, which is why it was always the "track shed." The track shed, with little sprinkles of other flavors, but enough for them to get what they needed. Misha picked up an aluminum bat that was leaning against the wall. Kenji found an old, beat-up golf bag and pulled out a nine iron, because, "it looks the most like an ax." Misha made him promise not to yell, "Fore!"

Yuuko just held onto the book, being that she was the only one that could read it, and the only one who could remember the words out of the three of them, let alone pronounce them right. She stood back, watching them both take practice swings. "Are you two ready?"

Misha lowered the bat, "No. But I don't think there is any being 'ready' for this any..."

"Hell yea!" Kenji whipped the club about. "I was born for this shit! I've been waiting, and _waiting,_ and now, ha! Now I get to prove it!" It would be a miracle if his wide smile would even fit out the door. "All this time, all this training..."

Yuuko clamped a hand over his mouth, "We get it, we got it then, and unfortunately, we will always understand. So please, spare us the nonsense." She pulled her hand away and walked out with Misha in tow. After a minute, Kenji sulked out as well.

Yuuko turned to Misha, "So, we go to the..."

"The Student Council Office." She pulled ahead of Yuuko and lead the way back into the main building. The three of them kept their eyes on the trees all the while.

They felt a bit safer once they re-entered the building. But there was no denying it, they really didn't have much of a plan. It was essentially to burst into the room, subdue anything in their way, chant random crap out of the book, and hopefully they got Larena out without killing Shizune.

Not a single one of them had ever even gotten into a schoolyard fight. Well, Kenji claimed to have battled the cyborg-ninjas on several occasions (it was well known that Kenji had a long standing rivalry with the Red Ninja Clan, all due to some business with the Golden Ninja Warrior... apparently), but even he had to admit that this would he be his greatest challenge yet.

Still, he kept pace with Yuuko and Misha. They say taking things slow until you are comfortable is something that you can apply to almost anything in life. It appeared that the three of them were firm believers in this philosophy.

It took them almost twenty minutes to crawl to the Student Council Office. They were constantly spinning their heads, trying to see everything all at once, but all that was doing was coating their vision in a blurry, paranoid mess. Every once in a while, one of them would loose their balance and stumble, either from fatigue, from not looking where they were going, or just the weight of the situation buckling their knees. Regardless, the misstep would echo in the hallway, causing them all to frantically press against the walls in a feeble attempt to hide. After they got over their shame, they would continue to plod along.

At long last, they stood in front of the door. They turned to look at each other and share nervous glances before Misha put her hand on the knob.

She took a deep breath.

"I'm coming, Shicchan."

She flung open the door and ran in, bat held high, and the others rushed in behind her.

Nothing.

Kenji let another swear loose, "Well that was anti-climatic."

Misha swept her eyes across the room. "It's... it's different in here."

Yuuko nodded, "Let's investigate."

Misha whipped her head back to them, "Watch out for the plants." She then started to explore.

The sanctity of this place had been fouled. Despite the fact that the room wasn't too changed, there was a heavy feeling, and it reminded Misha about what Yuuko said about the "unhappy" book; a negative edge hung in the air, and with every step that Misha took, it felt like it cut just a little bit deeper into her. On top of that, everything felt muggy. There was a humid pressure, and every breath made it feel like her lungs were getting filled with mud. It was enough to make her still drying hair start to frizz. And of course, this stained Misha's memories, of when she and Shizune would stay up for hours working. Of Misha trying to sleep in the office with Shicchan, with her in her chair and Misha spread out on a table, but she would always give in and head back to her bed, always chuckling to herself as she shut the door on Shizune still sitting in her chair, head leaning back, and mouth open in a snore. She always wondered if it would be right to tell her that she did. Of back when there was more than two of them, and then just Lilly, and the day that Lilly left, even though she was still mad at Shizune, gave Misha a hug and wished them both well.

She rubbed her temple and focused her eyes on reality. On the tables, books were strewn all over, the majority of them being encyclopedias, along with a few magazines on current fashion, and newspapers. Yuuko nudged a stack of DVD's, which ranged from spaghetti westerns, to romantic comedies, to war movies, and on, and on, and on. "I think she was studying up on us." She furrowed her brow, "She should have a decent knowledge on this time period due to her access to Shizune's mind, though."

Kenji picked up a DVD, bringing the cover close until he was face-to-face with Bruce Willis, "Hmm, she probably expected to have to deal with me at some point, and the President didn't have enough information in order to predict what I'd do. Clever girl." He threw the DVD back onto the table with a clatter. "A commendable effort, but a fruitless one, for I am a master of improvisation." Yuuko rolled her eyes.

Misha ignored them and kept flicking her eyes about the room. Something was different. What was it...?

She suddenly stood rigid. When she got an idea, it wasn't so much that a light bulb turned on as much as an entire nuclear plant was suddenly thrust into over-drive. "Ooooh, ooooh, I get it, I get it~!" Her arms were flipping about, and she was bouncing on the balls of her feet. Before either of her companions could ask her if she needed to use the bathroom, she exclaimed, "The stall building materials! For the festival! She brought them in here, to keep them out of the rain and stuff, and then brought them out when she was going to build~!"

Kenji shrugged, "So?"

Misha flung her arms around the room, "All the stuff's gone!"

"So?"

"She built the stalls?" Yuuko was looking a bit concerned. "Or maybe..."

Misha calmed down quick. She thought back to earlier in the week, when she was pretty much cut out from Shizune's activities. Shizune had looked as if she had been training for a marathon in her school uniform whenever Misha bumped into her.

_[You will know soon enough.]_

"Uh-oh~."

Kenji stepped up to Misha, "What? What's 'uh-oh?'"

Misha gave him a nervous look, "I think we need to head towards where we were building the stalls." Misha stepped back into the hallway, and the others followed on her heels.

When they reached the clearing, they found that all of the stalls were gone. There wasn't even a trace of them left. There were no building materials, either. All that was there was some grooves in the ground, left from something heavy being dragged, and they lead right into the forest path.

Kenji and Misha both jumped at the sound of a clacking noise, but calmed down when Yuuko clamped a free hand over her jaw. Hey, at least she wasn't crying again.

Kenji nodded in the vague direction of the woods, "So, in there?"

Misha nodded slowly, "Yeah. In there." She looked over to Yuuko and Kenji, took a deep breath, and gave them a reassuring smile. "I think it's about time we blow this scene. Everyone, get your stuff together." She started up the path.

"Okay, 3, 2, 1 let's jam~."

* * *

_Dempsey locks eyes with you, and huffs at your disapproving frown. "Oh, _what_, did you want me be the 999th person to make a Gurren Lagann reference? She doesn't even have her drills at this point!" He leans back, crosses his arms and stares out the window, moping, "I don't care how popular it is or was or whatever, that was a _sweet_ show. Piss off. We're almost done, anyway."_

_He then mumbles something about how at least he didn't take the Laughing Man too seriously like _some_ people, and that it would have been real easy to make this nothing but Misha clone jokes, with all of them claiming to be the original, but you tune him out and go back to your cheese._

_What a poseur._


	13. Chapter 12

The path hadn't gotten any nicer in the past week. But the sun was getting low, and whatever of it that passed through the branches had been ripped bloody by them. They trudged forward as fast as they could. Kenji and Yuuko both had one of their hands on Misha's shoulders. The lord had pulled a similar trick in the story, so they were hoping they could get away with it as well. Of course, Larena already knew that Misha had help, but hopefully she wouldn't know what the plan was. Mutou hadn't seen Yuuko's book, and they only had talked about it after they had dispatched of him. But Misha could tell from the way their hands were sliding from their trembles that they didn't have much faith that Larena didn't know everything.

That wasn't going to stop them. Part of it was because they had stepped beyond the point of no return, but only a part. The idea still didn't sit too well with Misha. Of course, the situation was more than a bit ridiculous, but Misha never, _ever_, thought that she would not only plot someone's death, but actually try to go through with it, with or without magic powers. It was the only thing in her stomach, and unfortunately, it seemed like it was trying to climb out. The occasional squeeze form her companions would reassure her, but only so much. There was a very good chance that this would be the last time she would see either one of them. It was weird enough when you outgrew old clothes, an old stuffed animal, or old habits. There would be a void, where that thing would be, but over time you would fit something else there to make yourself whole again. When that thing was something that talked to you, that had parents, had dreams, had a face, there wasn't a void. There was only them, and the world around them became a void, and it could take weeks before you pulled yourself away and back into the real world. And of course, it wasn't really over then, either. That person took a bit of you with them, and it made you more vulnerable to the breeze, like a gash that never heals.

Yuuko whispered, her eyes darting upwards at the canopy, "How much further?"

Misha swallowed, "It wasn't much further past that bush we pushed through. I think it's taking a while because we are walking so slow."

Yuuko didn't have a response for that, so she went back to toying with the book, double checking the slips of yellow paper she had stuck in. The idea was she could read off sections on the fly, and hopefully they had one for every possible scenario.

Finally, the trees parted. The smooth dirt clearing stretched out in front of them, but this time, the trees were all bent backwards, to make room for the tower.

None of them had a closed mouth. Even Kenji, with his sight, could make out how tall it was. It was a haphazard thing, slapped together from the stalls that Misha and Shizune had been building from the festival, the extra building materials, and even from the forest itself. It looked as if several trees had suddenly grown at the base then curled their way to the around the tower as supports, and peeking through, Misha could see signs for cheap udon and the prizes for the pitch-till-you-win.

"I swear to God, if that bitch used that sign I was painting in class...," Kenji growled. Yuuko gave him a blink, and he retorted, "Hey, I spent an entire week painting that thing."

Misha shrugged to get his attention back to where it belonged. "Come on." She started towards the tower.

There wasn't a single sound, not even from their footsteps. Had they been standing still, you wouldn't even think they were real living people, their breaths were that small.

Yuuko broke the silence after several agonizing moments, "This isn't right. There's no way that she would just let us in."

Misha nodded, "I know."

"Well then, this must be a trap!"

"Yeah, I know."

"But..."

"_I know._ We'll deal with it as it..."

Several branches peeled off the tower, and swung right at them. The three of them dove to the ground, then frantically rolled away from the branches as they lashed at them. Misha jumped up, got her bat ready to swing, but then had a terrible realization.

The three of them had rolled in three different directions in their panic.

They weren't holding her anymore.

She pounded the ground with everything she had, "Yuuko! Kenji!"

Kenji was standing alone, somewhat close to the tower, clutching the nine-iron and standing with the head pointed towards the sky. He didn't move a single muscle, and his face showed no emotion. He was smart enough not to start swinging away. Two branches were creeping at him. He swallowed, but he kept his uneasiness in check. One of them suddenly snapped at him, and he ducked, barely missing it. The other then darted at him while he was off balance, but Misha slammed into his side, the both of them tumbling out of the way.

Misha pulled him up, but she fell back to the ground after her feet were pulled out from under her. She whipped her head around, and started to swing at the branch that had wrapped around her ankle. The bat was doing damage, but it wasn't going to cut it. Kenji had her underneath her shoulders, and he was heaving with everything he had. His feet left ruts in the ground as the both of them started to get dragged towards the tower. This close, another branch was able to snake its way behind Kenji, and it lashed at him. He screamed in pain and fell, but he didn't let go of Misha. She fell on top of him, and Kenji shot his legs out to the sides and dug his heels in. The strike had left a long cut in his back, and the friction was tearing it wider, with dirt was finding its way inside.

More branches started to peel away from the tower. Misha looked away and back towards the clearing, and saw Yuuko running as fast as she could towards them. A few branches turned towards her, and without warning, lanced straight at her. She made to dive, but at the last minute spun to her side, and they all rushed past her and stuck in the ground. She didn't stop to congratulate herself, but instead kept running, pulling open the cover to the book as she did so. She stopped and gave herself a wide stance, making an evil eye with her fingers, but Misha turned back to Kenji, and started to use the bat to swing at other branches trying to strike at him. She kept her priorities on anything going for his forehead; she hadn't forgotten what had happened to Mutou in the office. The result was cuts appearing on his arms and legs, and Misha screaming louder and louder as her frustration grew.

Then, the branches suddenly backed away. Her ankle was free, and she spun around and helped Kenji to his feet. Yuuko rushed up to them, "Don't stop! I can only ward them for a few seconds at a time, I don't have any real powers or anything!"

Right on cue, the branches launched a second attack, but this time spit into a few different groups. Yuuko pointed at one, repeating the ward and stopping them, but the others were free from it. Kenji had a hand on Misha's shoulder, using her as a guide as she bobbed and weaved towards the tower, swinging her bat all the while, and he had his other arm around Yuuko's waist, pulling her along as she repeated the ward over and over again. It was painfully slow progress, and despite their best efforts, the three of them were getting scratched up badly. The wounds weren't deep, but quantity was trumping quality.

Misha then spotted something through the mass of branches, "A door! There's a door not far from here!"

They pushed harder. Their spirits had been recharged. They were only ten feet from the tower now. Misha didn't know what was waiting for them inside, but they still needed...

The was a sudden burst of earth right in front of them, and they were separated again. As she rolled on the ground, Misha's mind thought of land mines.

She was such a silly girl.

Trees have _roots._

She was back up before any of them could claim her, swinging hard and fast enough crack a brick wall. She screamed for the others, and saw that Yuuko was right next to her, sending out the ward towards Kenji, who was still struggling to his feet. His glasses were gone, but he still had the club, and he moved towards the sound of Yuuko's voice.

Unfortunately, Yuuko's voice was drowning out Misha's, "I can't get them all! Kenji, run! Yuuko, I need your... _Yuuko behind you!"_

Misha swung and missed. The branch darted at Yuuko's back, and punched a hole right through her left shoulder. The wards stopped, and the screams started. The branch started to lift her off the ground, but Misha slammed it with everything she had left, and managed to snap it. Kenji stumbled forward, trying to get his arms around Yuuko and push her through the door, but without the wards, the branches launched at him. Yuuko composed herself, and through her sobs, started the wards again. Kenji's face hardened, and he ran at Yuuko, pulling out the wriggling branch still sticking out her front. But the roots started grabbing at them too.

Yuuko spun herself and Kenji around, putting the book in his arms. She then grabbed at the page with the wards, and pushed him into Misha, sending them both towards the door. She tore the page free while doing this. The push was hard enough to send Kenji and Misha stumbling the last few feet into the door. Misha looked on with horror as the roots and branches started to close in on Yuuko. She was standing as tall as she could, determination on her face, and she kept casting the ward. But she was slowly getting closed off from view.

Kenji reached for her, "YUUKO!"

Misha felt something tickling her ankles, and saw that the roots were reaching for them again. She wrenched the door open, and dragged in a kicking, screaming, and sobbing Kenji Setou.


	14. Chapter 13

"Hold on." She wiped at the sweat on her forehead just before it started to drip into her eyes.

He kept up the steps past her.

She swayed, and slumped into the wall, which finally got him to turn around. She took a deep breath, and slid down the wall into a sit. "I'm getting dizzy."

Kenji just nodded, and snapped the book shut. He had been holding the thing straight up to his face, trying his hardest to understand Yuuko's notes that she had scribbled on the bookmarks. She had no idea if he was having any luck with that.

She leaned her head back on the wall, and muttering mostly to herself, "You'd think Shicchan would think a bit before building something like this."

Kenji sat next to her. "You okay?"

She nodded with her eyes closed, "I just get dizzy on stairs."

"Dizzy on stairs?"

"Uh-huh."

Kenji shrugged. He then nodded up the stair way, "I guess that's what those are for. If that is the same as the other ones."

Misha followed his nod and saw that there was a bench a few steps higher. Shocked, she said, "Wait, you can see that?"

Kenji clicked his teeth together in annoyance, "So, it is a bench. No I can't see that, but I saw the other three as we were going up. There's one per level."

Misha put her head back on the wall, "I don't want her pity anyway."

Kenji nodded. "It'll take more than that to get back on my good side, too."

They stayed like that for a few minutes. They needed all the energy they could get. After they had made it in, they had taken it upon themselves to search the first level, but hadn't found anything other than what looked to be a dining room and what could only be described as a laboratory. They looked through the second with less effort, only finding more 'research stuff,' so had just skipped over the third and fourth floors, with both of them coming to the silent agreement that she would be at the top, most likely on the roof. There seemed to be six or seven floors total, so they had a little while to go. Nothing had attacked them in the tower; there hadn't been anyone or anything at all. That was fine by them. This was personal for the two of them as well.

Kenji shoved his face back into the book for a few minutes, before snapping it closed. His head was still pointed down with his eyes closed, "I feel useless."

"Don't get like that. I need you."

Kenji shook his head. "No, it's not that. Maybe it's that. I guess I just feel useless in general, even outside," he gestured at his surroundings, "of this."

Misha reached for him, "Kenji..."

He turned to her, "I ever tell you about my dad?"

Misha had never really said anything to Kenji except for maybe giving him the time before this, but she kept that back, and just shook her head.

Kenji looked back down, with a small smile on his face, "He's pretty good at baseball. Well, he's okay, or was okay. He played a bit back in high school, and then later at his university. Nothing too crazy, team did okay in tournaments, but he never won any championships. He just loves it. Always talks about it. All year, too. Doesn't really play with anyone anymore, but that's because of his job. He did damn good in school, made some damn good money with the business he and his friend set up. That guy doesn't like baseball at all, but that's okay."

He shrugged, "I really don't know anything about it either, and I guess that's okay, too."

Misha just nodded. She didn't need to say anything.

Kenji continued, "That's how he affords my tuition. Through his business, I mean." He gave her a pained smile, "Sorry, but it's kinda like someone put all my thoughts on a high shelf. I gotta pull them down and read the labels before I can do anything. You're gonna have to bear with me."

"That's okay."

He nodded. "I really can't play baseball. We tried catch a few times. But you know, it's not my fault, so it's okay. I know that, he knows that, we all know that, so let's just forget about it and go get ice cream."

He opened the book, and flipped to a random page, "I might be able to decipher this, if you gave me not just time but a lot of your patience. I studied up on cryptography. I'm pretty good. They don't teach that here, though. So I kinda look it up when I'm out of class, which is pretty often. I'm not failing, I'll make it. I think. I'll beat the system. I got my room and was able to look up how to build a bomb shelter and other stuff. I'll build it during summer break. I think I can do it fast enough. But that really isn't going to do shit, is it? But it's something though, right? That just isn't the panic speaking?"

Misha gulped and moved to say something, but he waved a hand and cut her off.

He looked her in the eye. "My dad bowls sometimes. I remember during a break last year, I took a bus down to the city to go bowling. Disco bowling. Awesome shirts. I couldn't afford any until way later, though, so I was in my uniform. You ever been?"

She couldn't say she had.

"Couldn't be hard, I mean they paint little triangles on the floor to guide you, right? Well, first throw goes right into the gutter. Whatever, I wasn't so put off. I'm not the best at much, let alone everything. Next shot get's almost to the end, but gutters. Third hits one pin. And it kinda keeps going like that for a bit. Then this guy, someone who works there, walks up. He recognized the uniform. He asked if I wanted the bumpers up." He shrugged. "I left."

He ran a hand through his hair. "I'm no class rep. I'm no track star, don't read much, don't and can't do much of anything. And I can't make up for it by being good at sports, or anything else. I'm just kinda here. No classes jump out at me. There hasn't been a day when I've suddenly felt inspired, felt a jolt go through me in class. I'm not clever enough to create anything myself. I'd just go work a basic job when I leave here, but _I can't fucking see._ I can't. Can't drive a cab or anything, can't even drive to work. I'm just in that dorm, eating up daddy's money, and whenever I see him on a break or something, we don't even have anything to talk about. So I stopped going home on break. I'm just here, all the time. And this is my last year here.

I feel stuck. They keep saying don't let your disability get you down, to not let it define you, but I have _nothing_ other than a pile of cryptography books, some fucking _puppets_, and some stolen DVD's. Just what in the _hell_ am I supposed to do?"

Misha reached for his shoulder, but he stood up, shaking his head, "I just... just needed to say that. I don't really talk to anyone. At first I thought I was getting lucky when my hall was staying empty. I really don't feel that way anymore. This stuff just kinda builds up in ya, ya know?"

Misha stood up and dusted herself off, "Yea, I do."

They both smiled, and Kenji nodded up the stairs, "Shall we?"

Misha nodded, and Kenji said, "Ladies first."

Misha gave a light shove and a chuckle, and then lead the way to the top.


	15. Chapter 14

The sky was still red, but the sun was low enough to be sitting on the horizon, and it looked almost close enough to pluck out of the sky, if you could manage to reach both arms around it. Wisps of straight pink clouds lay draped around it like silk scarves, accentuating its golden majesty more than obscuring it. There were no trees to block the sight, so the wind was much stronger. It whipped across the bare wood floor of the rooftop, and it bit at Misha's legs as it went by. The trees could only reach so high, and their bare branches looked like hands extending and waving upwards in futile agony, fanning to the one lone figure standing at the far edge of the roof. Her back was to them, with her hands folded across it, and she was watching the setting sun. The wind ruffled her skirt, and her hair was blown back, but it looked perfectly natural. Beautiful even. Misha couldn't see it, but she knew the figure had a smile, a contented smile, full of pride, and it sat atop a figure standing tall, their chest sticking out from the swelling of their heart.

Shizune's head cocked to the side, and then she slowly turned to the both of them. Misha was right, the smile looked just like she pictured it, so sugary sweet that just a glance could rot the teeth out of your head. Shizune then turned her attention to Kenji standing at Misha's side, and she grimaced, showing that he was as welcome as another angsty simile, "I was hoping you would be here sooner, but there's still enough time for us to enjoy this sunset." She gave Kenji a curt nod, "Granted he leaves quick enough."

"Actually, I was hoping you'd join me for a manly picnic," he retorted.

Ignoring his quip, she turned back to Misha, whose shaking was visible from where she was standing. "What's wrong? The stairway wasn't that bad now, was it?"

"Let go of Shicchan."

"Oh? But I am Shicchan." She spread her arms out, then gave Misha a curtsy.

Misha's teeth were bared, and she forced her words through them while taking a step forward, "Let her go. _Now._"

"I'm afraid that's out of the question. How is this so hard for you to understand? I've been here for a long time, now." A smirk spread across her face like a kicked over bucket of old, dirty oil, "I _am_ Shizune Hakamichi. I know everything that she knows. I remember my eighth birthday. I remember teaching my brother how to tie a ribbon." She leaned forward, arms crossed, and her eyes narrowed at Misha, who felt like that oil was being forced down her throat, "And I remember the day we first met.

I remember when we fell in love."

"Shut up!" The bat clattered to the ground as Misha grabbed both sides of her head, squeezing her eyes shut. "You're not Shicchan!"

"Misha, goddammit!" Kenji bounded towards her, but it was too late.

There was a moment when Misha could see Shizune through a small slit in her eyelids, and she had been crouched, ready to spring. The next thing that Misha knew, she was wrapped in Shizune's embrace. They were standing in the center of the roof now. She shivered as she felt Shizune's fingers run through her hair. They reached the base of her neck, and Shizune massaged it lightly. It felt like instinct; her head fell back into the palm of Shizune's hand, and she guided it so Misha was looking up into her eyes.

Using her other hand, she brushed Misha's hair off her forehead, "Ooooh, that's awful. I can't believe he was so rough with you." Her voice was like a velvet glove, and her soft touch was spreading warmth wherever it fell. Her hand found her cheek for a moment, before dropping down to Misha's waist, "You look so tired, Misha. So very tired." You could only see her smile if you were that close.

Misha's eyes were saucers. She had them so wide so she could see everything, every last detail, from the sun sitting in the red sky, the desolate rooftop, the swaying branches. Everything. She felt like she needed to remember this, to see this forever, to have it permanently etched on the back of her eyelids. She even needed to dream this. Her mouth was open, but only the tiniest, hushed little breath escaped through it. Despite this, her chest was heaving, though it was a slow, steady motion. She felt like her heart was pressing up against her ribcage. Shizune's hand glided around her, and settled into the small of her back. Gently, she pulled Misha closer. Misha drew a sharp breath as they were pressed together. She could swear she could feel Shizune's heart beating against her. Two hearts, separated, trying desperately and painfully to embrace.

"MIIIIKAAADOOO!" Kenji had the bat in one hand and the book in the other, and his feet thundered against the ground. Shizune shot him a glance, then she flicked out her arm that had been holding Misha's head, pointing it at Kenji. A vine shot out through her sleeve. Kenji must have seen her move her arm and sensed danger, because his face flashed fear, and he dropped and rolled. The vine flew straight, and it skimmed his arm, leaving a nasty red gash. He groaned through his roll, but he got right back up.

Misha blinked.

Shizune let the vine fall flaccid on the ground, but put her hand around the base of it. She then whipped it at Kenji, who rolled again, and this time when he got up, he rubbed his unmarked forehead and let out a sigh of relief.

Misha shook her head and blinked.

Growling, Shizune flicked her wrist, and another vine burst forth from her sleeve. It wrapped around Kenji's ankle, and tried to pick him up. He whacked it with the bat, which resulted with it letting go, but also with him getting flipped through the air, landing dangerously close to the unguarded edge of the roof. Both of the vines whipped at him, lashing his limbs as he blocked his face. The block wasn't very successful; the strikes were hard enough to send quick jets of blood shooting forth, and he dropped the bat.

Shizune donned a smile that would give a man-eating tiger some serious doubts. It disappeared when she felt Misha grab the back of her head and twist it around. They froze, eyes locked, their faces both tickled by each others breath. It was Shizune's turn to be stunned.

"Shicchan...," a whisper that could only be heard in the quiet of that moment.

"M-Misha?" She unconsciously licked her lips.

Misha gave her a bashful smile, biting at her lip. She then suddenly rocked backwards and forwards, giving Shizune a face-full of forehead.

Shizune dropped her right on her back and stumbled backwards. Blood squirted out between the fingers she had clasped on her nose, and she leaned her head back. At that moment, her glasses snapped right down the bridge, and fell off the two sides of her face with a clatter.

Misha sat herself up and let out a giggle. She wiped at her forehead, and was disgusted to see that blood had been smeared on her hand.

Shizune stumbled while doubled over, and slowly pulled her hands away from her face. She stared at the blood that coated her palms, then sputtered when some of the blood gushing from her nostrils dripped into her mouth. She then rocked onto the balls of her feet, and with her back arched, arms ending in fists at her sides, and her face pointed skyward, let out the most angry and nasally scream that Misha had ever heard. It was fascinating to watch Shizune's chest slowly deflate as the scream tore its way out of her body and clawed up towards the bloody sky. When it had run its course through her, Shizune bent back forward, with a hand covering her face. One blue eye sliced towards Misha, and a snarling voice snaked out and lashed at her, "You... you'd throw it all away?" Shizune flung her free hand about the tower, gesturing to their surroundings. "All this, you'd throw it away?! What is wrong with you?! What can you possibly have?!"

"I know I've never killed anyone."

Shizune hissed at her, "And what is that? What is that? I remember how miserable you were. How miserable you _are._ You _need_ me. You _called_ me. I answered, and I made things better, didn't I? What the hell is this, do you _like_ being miserable?!"

Misha gave her a hard look, "No, you're right on some points. Yeah, I haven't been that happy. And yeah, I guess I really am in love with Shicchan. Weird, huh? You just bump into somebody, and before you know it, you're all wrapped up. It went beyond just liking her, just wanting to get to her know her a little more than what was normal. But she didn't love me the same way. She said it herself. Yeah, that hurt. That hurt like hell. I was mad at her for a while. Heh, more than a while. I couldn't believe I could be hurt that bad, that any other human being would do it to me, and most of all, it would come from _her_. For the longest time, I thought that was it. I had screwed up a bit at home, was lonely there, and here I was again, all alone. I wondered if it was always going to be like this. All that talk about hope and not giving up at school just felt like them feeding me excuses to keep me paying my tuition. But I was wrong. Maybe we were all wrong, but I know where I messed up. I was alone, alright, all alone in my own head. There was someone standing right outside, who might have felt the same way I did, lonely, that is. And maybe we sort of used each other, but dammit, most of the time, we really were there for each other. I believe that, I honestly do. And you know what? There were other people in my classroom. Other people in the halls, in the building, outside these walls. And there would be more in my life, because it's not over. I won't let it be over."

She stood up. "Yeah, maybe this'll happen again. Maybe it will keep hurting for a while. But I don't believe it will hurt forever. I'm not going to let it."

Shizune/Larena pulled her hand down, showing Misha her sneer, "So, you've decided to become a doormat?"

Misha shook her head, "No, I've decided to stop curling up on the floor like a child and grow up." Kenji rolled the bat over to Misha, and she grabbed it up, putting the head of it on the floor, and leaned on it like a cane, "What you're offering is a fantasy. You just want me to never grow up, to stay in 'Neverland,' and not only is that insulting, but you have this disgusting notion in your head that I would honestly think that hurting people to make myself feel better is fine by me. It isn't." She narrowed her eyes.

Larena stood up straight, not caring if the blood was still flowing, "You'd throw away happiness?! For out there?! What has that ever gotten you?! Pain! Misery! I could you make you happy!"

Misha snorted. "The 'happiness' you wish to give me sounds like you're trying to 'improve' me, like I'm not good enough as is. What's wrong with me as I am right now? Yeah, I've screwed up. Yeah, this hurts. But it's my life." She thumped the head of the bat on the ground. "I'm not broken. Not yet."

Larena was yelling in complete frustration, "I could make you feel wanted, loved, at peace for all time! I have so much to give, so much power, so much devotion! We could live for ages! We could be together for all eternity!"

Misha turned herself sideways somewhat, with one foot in front of the other, and her left shoulder pointed at Larena. She then swung the bat off the ground and casually rested it on her other shoulder. A strong gust of wind blew her hair out to the side, but her face was free of it.

"Till death do us part, bitch."


	16. Chapter 15

Larena just stared. Her face was completely blank, her body totally relaxed. Blood lazily dripped off the bottom of her chin, and after a moment, she wiped it with her hand. It seemed to catch her eye, and she brought it up in front of her face. She then started to spasm. It was light at first, but enough to make Misha quirk an eyebrow at her. As Larena's shuddering built, her breath started to hitch in her throat. Misha eventually got it: She was laughing. Shizune's face finally caught up with Larena's lunacy, and she started to giggle, a smile widening on her face, and after a few moments, she looked up over her finger tips, here eyes huge and her mouth in an open smile, sending booming laughter at Misha. The shuddering was making her whole body almost double over, but she stayed standing. Misha rolled her eyes, but then Larena spoke.

"Okay," she choked out. "I guess I won't be needing _this_ then." Larena's eyes locked back onto Shizune's hand. Misha cocked her head to the side, and Larena licked her lips, before looking back up at Misha while sticking Shizune's ring finger in her mouth, all the way down to the knuckle.

Her bottom jaw worked side to side. Then, there was a dribble of blood. Larena smiled around the finger, took a breath, and bit down as hard as she could.

There may or may not have been a crunching noise.

"SHIIIICHAAAN!" Misha didn't care anymore. Everything but Larena/Shizune was a blur as she bolted across the roof, the bat held high overhead.

A fierce display of devotion wasn't going to phase Larena, though. With her free hand, she extended it outwards, and several vines shot at Misha. Misha in turn dropped and rolled to the side, getting back up nimbly. It was so nimble, in fact, that she was able to keep her eyes on Larena the whole time, and watch as vines snaked out from under Larena's skirt and around her legs. They curled then pushed like springs on the ground, launching Larena forward, and in no time at all, she was only a few steps from Misha. With a dawning horror, Misha realized that was how Larena was able to grab her so quickly before. Who knew how many of those vines she had hidden and wrapped around Shizune's body.

Snapping out of her dreadful reverie, she rolled again, less nimbly this time. She still managed to stick the bat between Larena's legs, causing her to trip up. Shizune's hand came free from her mouth, and she put both of her arms forward, sending out vines to brace herself. Misha couldn't help but notice that the bitten finger was wiggling far more than it should. Larena spun right around, that sick smile still there, but Kenji blind-sided her with a tackle. They both fell, but before Larena could retaliate, Kenji was up, and Misha was ready to swing.

She wasn't quick enough. Another barrage of vines, and Misha was on defense. Larena got up, lashing at Misha from every direction. Misha was no sword fighter, but she did her best, blocking everything she could, but the attack was causing her to back away. Larena, on the other hand, just continued to press forward.

Larena chortled. "I don't need you like this. I can just take that pretty head of yours and put it in time out. Just attach it to one of my plants, and as it feeds, you get fed. I can keep you like that for however long I want. You can have your body back when you've learned your lesson. Don't worry, I'll take _good_ care of it."

Misha was growling in frustration. Larena's strikes got harder, and Misha found herself getting knocked about on occasion. She always got back up, but she still couldn't get through Larena's onslaught.

Larena was trying to hold back her laughs, but her smile kept getting wider, and snorts were bubbling through her bloody nose. She could do this all day.

Misha couldn't.

Misha screamed when one of the vines hit the back of her hand. She didn't drop the bat from that, but the strike to her other arm did. Larena laughed, and Misha lunged at her, her hands twisted into claws. Larena simply had a vine smack her across the face. Misha flew a few feet through the air, and slammed into the floor, sliding a bit on her side.

Larena's smug smile would have been disgusting on a perfect day, but when coupled with the squashed purple nose, it was one of the most nauseating things Misha had ever seen. She felt like cold hands were gripping her stomach and squeezing it as hard as they could, like they were wringing out a sponge. It was over. She lost. And she never was any good at botany. She cracked into a loony grin as she felt other cracks start to spread through her brain.

Apparently, Kenji didn't like the way this looked either. He shuffled to his feet, a little to the side of the other two, and spoke, "Damn, bitch, you look like _shit._"

Larena stopped her approach to Misha, gave Kenji a tired look, then continued on, ignoring him.

Apparently, Kenji found that amusing enough to laugh at, "Yeah, go ahead, try to act cool..."

Larena flicked a vine at him without looking, but he dodged it, although barely. She continued to ignore him, and he continued to refuse to be ignored, "I mean, you missed. You must be pissed."

She stopped and huffed, "Would you please be quiet? I am going to kill you eventually, but if you keep this up it's going to take longer than it needs to."

"Pfft, whatever. You bitches are all the same, you pass out at the sight of blood. You just put the back of your hand up to your forehead, let out a little 'oh!' then faint. Girls don't have the stomach for torture, it's a fact."

Larena now had her hands on her hips and was turned to Kenji. "Are you kidding me? Are you _fucking_ kidding me?"

Misha rubbed her eyes and muttered, "Yeah, are you kidding me?"

Larena's head bobbed as she talked, her agitation able to be seen from space. "What the hell is this? Do you _want_ me to kill you first? Because I'm busy, I can't let her get away. I need to take care of her, then I'm _definitely_ going to take my time with you."

"Right after you do your nails? After you watch your stories?"

Larena flung her arms angrily about, "Just what is that supposed to mean? Do you really think that what your saying bothers me? You know what, go ahead, say whatever you want, you sad, sad little man."

"It does bother you. You look like you're pissed, _and _you look like shit." Kenji smirked. "It bothers you because it's true."

"Yeah, sure," she said with a shrug as she turned back to Misha, "The witch who studied for years and has bent the rules of this world to her will is totally gonna be that petty."

"Well now, look, you might have done something neat like invent self-baking cakes or something, but let's face it, you're no Gandalf or anything."

Larena stopped. Her shoulders quivered. "What was that."

"I mean, the whole 'witch' thing is cute and all, but come on, let's stop and take a look at the whole picture. Who's afraid of some whacked out bitch who sticks a broom between her legs?"

She rounded on him, jabbing a finger in his face, "I am Larena! Master of the elements! One who has traveled the world, twisted reality, and who defeated the keeper of this forest, taking it for herself! I was given this land by the lord, and was its baroness! Who are you to mock me?! The hell have you done?!"

"Damn, is there anything you haven't done there, poobah?" He then suddenly seemed to realize something, and started to crack up into laughter.

"Oh, oh, what, what is so funny? Do I look funny? Am I amusing?"

"I wouldn't expect you to get it."

"Get what?"

Kenji nodded at her and then at the vague blur he figured to be Misha, "Poobah? Mikado? No? Oh well, like I was saying, I didn't expect you to get it, being you've been busy making self-cutting sandwiches or whatever. You'd have no time to understand a high-brow thing like that, mmm-hmmm?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

Shizune twitched, and her mouth hung open, with her arms slack at her sides. Oddly, Larena's voice didn't match the picture, as she continued to speak perfectly, though it sounded like it had a bit of an echo, like it was coming from a cave, "You... you insignificant little shit! What's the matter with you?! Did you get beat up by a girl when you were a kid? Did all the other boys call you girly? It wouldn't surprise me, look at those dainty little wrists you got! You're just a little bitch! Yeah, some little bitch with little bitchy balls, couldn't get a girl because they considered that lesbo, you little bitch!"

Misha started to stroke her temples.

Kenji snorted and crossed his arms, "Oh, what is this, like you should be talking." He then smirked, "Or were you going to end that with 'anything you can do I can do better?'"

Shizune fell to her knees, with her head lolling backwards and her eyes white. Misha couldn't believe it. A pale green glow was shimmering from Shizune's mouth. Then, a pale green arm shot out, then another, and then Larena, the actual spectral Larena, was squeezing out of Shizune's mouth, clawing the air, trying to get to Kenji, and apparently without any idea on what was really going on.

Misha swallowed and blinked, "Oh, you've _got_ to be kidding me."

It looked like the master of the elements was really that petty after all. A screeching master flailing their arms angrily, at that.

"YOU INTOLERANT LITTLE SHIT! YOU'RE JUST LIKE THE REST, YOU GOT ALL YOUR LITTLE INSECURITIES ALL PENT UP INSIDE, AND YOU JUST GOTTA WALK AROUND TRYING TO PUT OTHER PEOPLE DOWN SO THAT WHEN YOU FLICK THE LIGHTS OUT, YOU CAN SLEEP BECAUSE YOU LIE THERE TELLING YOURSELF YOU BETTER THAN THOSE PEOPLE! I HATE PEOPLE LIKE YOU! I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU, I HATE, I HATE, I HATE...!"

And so on, and so forth.

Kenji was having a problem keeping his laughs in, and he shot his eyes down to Shizune. Though he probably didn't plan on this, he was going to roll with it. He nodded in Misha's direction, then at Shizune, all while taking steps backwards.

Larena kept trying to get at him, but was stuck in Shizune. She put both her spectral arms on Shizune's head, and with a grunt, started to push herself out, all while screaming that when she got unstuck from this thing she was going to rip his face off. One leg came free, and after a brief moment, so did the other, and she flew right at Kenji, who ran about with her chasing him. Shizune stayed on her knees for a moment, then closed her eyes and collapsed onto her side. The vines that had been wrapped under her clothes fell to the ground like discarded snake skins.

It took every ounce of self control for Misha not to get up and sprint over. Instead, she quietly got to her knees, and crawled over to Shizune, flicking her eyes to Larena and Kenji to make sure that she wasn't spotted. Shizune didn't react to Misha shaking her shoulder. Misha put an ear to her breast, and sighed in relief when she heard Shizune's heart still beating. She gently started to scoop her up, draping one of Shizune's arms over her shoulder, and started to rise. It was taking too long; she kept falling out of balance with Shizune's dead weight.

Meanwhile, Kenji was running around cackling, with Larena hot on his heels. All was going well, until he ran right to the edge of the tower. He gasped, and stopped short, flinging his arms to balance himself. Larena shrieked with glee, and lowering her shoulder, moved to push him over the edge. Of course, being a ghost, this didn't work at all. Kenji stumbled back, regaining his balance, and Larena just flew through him. She stopped in mid-air, looking down at herself, and the fact that she was flying. She then slowly turned her head over to Misha struggling with Shizune, and started to slowly float over to them. Kenji grabbed at her, talking about how wizards and sorcerers were better that witches, but his hands just passed through her, and she was no longer paying him any mind.

Larena spoke in a quiet tone to stay out of earshot of Kenji, "I don't need her. I'll just take you. We can be together that way."

Misha was up, and was shuffling haphazardly backwards. Kenji shouted, "Misha! Yell or something, I don't know where any of you are!"

It wasn't that Misha wasn't trying, she was just completely out of breath.

Larena kept talking quietly, "Don't worry, I'll keep that one around for a while. You know, I wonder if I can grow more of them? Maybe rip them to pieces, and make furniture out of them. Lampshades of skin are so passé, though. How about an entire throne? Just hook them together, stick an arm in a mouth, stuff like that? Meld their skin. Have one of them kneeling as a footrest. Then you can be together, too." Larena had a mock dreamy look, "Then everyone gets what they want. Wouldn't that be nice?"

Misha stumbled backwards, spilling Shizune on the ground. "Shicchan!" She started to frantically crawl, but then Larena blocked her path. She bent over, bringing her face close to Misha's.

"Gimme a kiss."

She moved in, and Misha started to feel strange. Her arms felt numb. But her fingers were moving. But she wasn't moving her fingers. Her eyes moved up and met with Larena's. Larena was disovling, like she was made of smoke, _and Misha was breathing her in._

"It will only take a second, my lovely."

Misha was twitching all over now. She couldn't control it. Far off, maybe several miles off, she heard Kenji screaming something. She couldn't answer him, no matter how hard she tried. The twitching built, and built, and built, and then...

"NOSFERATAS!"

Larena went flipping head over heels through the air backwards, screaming, with her hands on her ears.

Misha fell forward, coughing, wisps of green wafting from her nostrils. She turned her head to the sound of the voice.

Her dress was ripped to shreds. The green apron was gone. Blood was splattered, flecked, and smeared over everything. Her glasses were lost, but that hadn't stopped Yuuko from finding the discarded book they had all forgotten about. She took her right arm sleeve and wiped some blood from her face, which was freely flowing from one of the many cuts she had striped all over her body. Her left arm hung limply, but the right had the book by the top, keeping it open, and she had her pointer and pinky fingers extended into an evil eye.

Larena stopped twisting through the air, and stared at Yuuko, "Impossible! Ridiculous! There's no way you could have made it...!"

"HALIMIMNON!"

Larena went back to screaming. Kenji was bolting to the sound of Yuuko's voice, and Misha was trying desperately to raise up Shizune.

"No! Not when I am this close! No!" Larena screeched, and flew as fast as she could at Misha.

"KANDA!"

Larena fell to the floor in front of Misha. She was twisting in pain, her face contorted in agony. Then, slowly, it looked like she started to fill in, like someone dripping paint onto paper. Black started to spread, and after a few moments you could see that was her robe. An olive tone crept across her skin, and more black came out of her head into long, wavy hair. When it was over, the only green left was the green of her eyes, burning with hatred.

Yuuko's face relaxed when she saw that it was done, and she dropped to her knees, the book falling out of her good hand. Kenji stumbled over, completely exhausted, and braced her.

Misha let Shizune lay, and stood up, looking down at the now flesh and blood Larena.

Larena was on her knees now, looking down at her hands. "I live... again."

Misha cleared her throat. Larena looked up.

*CRUNCH!*

Misha planted her foot right into Larena's face, causing her to fall over backwards.

"That's for making me break Shicchan's nose," Misha huffed.

Larena jumped up, and motioned at the vines lying on the floor. They sprung to life, and started to slither over, but they weren't fast enough. Misha had simply charged Larena, tackling then straddling her, and started to pummel her face.

Larena took it for a minute before raising a knee to Misha's crotch, causing her to howl in pain. Larena threw her off, and tried to get on top of her, but Misha swung, the strike chopping her throat. Larena lashed back with hands that ended in razor sharp nails, and they sliced across Misha's midsection. Misha grimmaced and grabbed at the wound, leaving her open to be tackled and mounted by Larena.

The world seemed to flicker in and out. It was like she was trying to watch a screen with a faulty wire. Things would be in focus for a split-second, then go black for one, then come back with no color. It repeated like that for a while, and Misha started to notice that the picture was getting smaller, too, like she was taking steps backwards from it. She gasped, and ran forward at the shrinking window to the outside world. She put her hands up on Larena's throat, which got her in turn to take her hands off the sides of Misha's head, making it so that she didn't have the grip to smash it into the floor anymore. Misha felt a warmth on the back of her skull, but all that did was make her squeeze harder. Larena's face showed fear, and she slapped at Misha's hands uselessly. Then, just as the whites of her eyes started to go red and drool started to spill from her mouth, she clawed at Misha's face, aiming for her eyes. Misha screamed, but held on, at least until one of Larena's claws got too close, causing her to panic and push her away.

Larena rolled, landing close to the edge, but she did not care at all. Still struggling for breath, she motioned at the discarded vines once again, and they started to slither over.

Misha was more than just afraid. If Larena got those vines, it was over. She flipped onto her stomach, looking to get up, but froze.

_The bat was right there._

The vines were starting to wrap around Larena's legs, and she burst into estactic laughter.

Misha gripped the handle of the bat with one hand, and swung it while she got up.

*Clink!*

The back-handed swing struck Larena right in the jaw. Her eyes were dazed, and pointed skyward. She started to take several steps backwards before the stars stopped circling her head. Unfortunately for her, it was only just in time for her to lose her balance and fall backwards over the edge.

She turned end over end in the air, screaming the whole time. The tree supports of the tower moved to grab her, but they were all too slow, and she just smashed through the branches, several of them piercing her.

It only took a few seconds after that. She smashed into the ground like a wet paper bag full of spaghetti and meat-sauce.

Misha dropped the bat to the ground, panting heavily. She wiped at the blood on her face, then shuffled up to the edge. She spat over the side.

"God save the Queen."


	17. Chapter 16

The sky was losing its brightness. The sun was setting on the tower. Misha turned back to Kenji and Yuuko, who were holding each other up. Tenatively, Yuuko managed to eke out, "Misha... are you okay?"

Misha nodded in response, and then limped over to where Shizune lay. Kneeling at her side, she pulled Shizune up, so her head was resting in Misha's lap. She carefully reached around Shizune's nose and tenderly brushed the hair out of her eyes. At her touch, Shizune's face contorted in discomfort, like she was being tickled. Slowly, her eyelids opened, and she stared into what was left of the crimson sky. She brought a hand to her face, feeling for her glasses, but winced when her fingers found her nose. She then saw her ring finger, and her breath started to hitch, with tears brimming her eyes.

Misha cupped her hand, blocking it from view. Shizune winced again, but when she saw Misha's face, she smiled. She was bearing the pain for Misha, whose tears were alread falling down her face, lightly dropping onto Shizune's shirt.

"Shicchan... I'm so, so sorry...," Misha's sobs were quiet, but they still shook her shoulders.

Shizune brought her good hand up to Misha's, and gave her a squeeze before guiding them away. She touched her bitten finger carefully, then slowly signed, [I'm surprised you didn't call my father.]

"Wahaha~... hahaha~!" A small laugh, but a big moment, forcing its way out into the peaceful dusk air. Her Shicchan was okay. She wiped her hands on her shirt, then signed, [I was putting up with enough, Shicchan. Plus, I don't think he would have believed me.]

Shizune smiled and let out an unblocked but still quiet laugh, [No, he probably would have told you about how he fought worse when he was a kid. Like a dragon or sea monster or something.]

They shared another smile, and then Yuuko and Kenji staggered up to them, still holding the other up, and each equally beat up. Yuuko looked down, "Is she okay, can she walk?"

Before Misha could translate, Shizune nodded at her, and sat herself up. She looked to Misha, [Tell her I really, _really_ need to go to the hospital though. Hell, we all do.] She held up her injured hand, and Misha delivered the message.

Kenji snorted, "I wonder what we're gonna say happened."

"Shicchan says we should just say we fell down some stairs..."

The tower shook for a few seconds. Their eyes widened.

"Oh, dear," Yuuko bit her lip. "Um, guys? I think without Larena here anymore, this place..."

The tower started shaking again, and this time it didn't stop.

Kenji whirled himself and Yuuko around, shouting, "Get her up, and get the hell outta here!"

Shizune grunted as she stood up, and Misha braced her. The two of them stumbled behind Kenji and Yuuko, and smashed in the door to the stairwell.

The tower was now literally teetering back and forth, and they all fell down more than a few times. Each time they were lucky enough to be grabbed by one of the group. Misha was feeling dizzy to the point where she could barely see where her feet were landing. The only thing she could do was try to stay in time with Shizune, who was going much faster than Misha wanted to. No time to sit and rest, no time to take it easy. When she got Shizune out of here, then she could lie down, lie down for a whole damn week.

There was a sudden thunder, and Misha turned her head around. The stairs right behind them had collapsed, and the section above was now in flames. She yelped, and sped up, now dragging Shizune forward.

Each floor was in shambles. Several rooms were on fire, sensitive looking instruments were smashed, and sections of the ceiling were falling. Holes were everywhere in the floor, and the slightest misstep might send any one of them plummeting the rest of the way down. Misha looked at the wall and was shocked to see that she could see outside; the walls were falling apart, and the trees that were supporting the tower were rapidly turning gray, like they were suddenly drying up and dying. Each one fell away from the tower, but the structure shaking to pieces managed to drown out the trees crashing to the ground.

"Hurry up, we're almost there!" Kenji yelled this back over his shoulder.

Misha bellowed, and pulled harder on Shizune, who was struggling to keep up.

At last, the bottom floor!

"Push it! Push it goddammit!"

The thundering crashes were getting louder, and Misha didn't need to turn and see that the roof was caving in, taking out every single one of the floors below.

Yuuko wrenched the front door open, and they poured out. A second later, flames shot through the doorway. In fact, the entire tower was wrapped in flames climbing to the sky.

Shizune suddenly pointed, and Misha followed her finger, "There! That ditch! Go! GO RIGHT NOW!"

There was a heat in the air, and Misha felt like all the moisture was being drained from her body. The four of them moved as fast as they could, then dove into the ditch.

Not a second later, the tower exploded.

You see huge explosions in movies all the time, so much so that they have become generally uninteresting. It isn't until you see it yourself that you realize how unbelievably terrifying they are. That huge tower was just _gone._ It was a place. What does that mean? Well, your house, your apartment complex, your work; those are all places. Imagine if they were just gone? You walk up, and they had dissapeared, no where to be found? Imagine if it was your school, your college or whatever, and you had a class on the second floor. A place to sit down, to learn, where you met up with friends and classmates, was now just an empty spot in the sky. _Gone._ Never to be seen again. Now imagine witnessing it, the force that would be needed to erase something like that from existence. Walls flung further than you can even see, tearing down trees, hitting the ground, and actually reshaping it. Reshaping the goddamn _land_. The fire lapping up the debris, the heat unbearable. Like a bonfire, but you were sitting _in_ it after a nice long day of drinking nothing but gasoline. Your eyes want to tear up, but they can't, because the dry air has robbed you of even your spit. An unrelenting gust of wind, so powerful that you couldn't even stand if you wanted to. Can you even imagine that? You stand all the time, you could be standing right now, it's no big deal right? It is until you can't, that something so large and powerful comes along and just shows you how weak and puny you really are, that it can push you over and make you less steady than a toddler. Like an insect, trying to cling to a leaf as a child blows as hard as they can on it, just for the laughs. And all this comes in an instant, a quick sucker-punch right to your jaw, but in that instant, you are able to rethink, re-evaluate, and re-appreciate the entirety of your life. And generally, it feels a lot cheaper, a lot more brittle, and a hell of a lot more plastic.

But as the gusts subsided, and the heat died down, Misha looked over to Shizune. Shizune had her face pressed right into the dirt, and even though it was all over, she was still shaking. Misha reached out a hand, touching her lightly, and Shizune's head snapped up, surprise and fear written all over it. Her eyes darted about, before finally settling on Misha, [Is it over?]

Misha felt a smile slowly widen on her face, and she nodded. Shizune's eyes sparkled as a response.

And then, Kenji jumped to his feet, "Goddamn! That was _awesome!_ We just kicked some serious ass! I mean, holy shit, I never, _ever_ thought I would be part of an assault on a goddamn doom tower! And it blew up! And we were all like, 'Oh my God, run!' And the tower was all like, 'BA-BOOM!' And we were like running in slow motion, goin' like, 'Noooooooo!'" He reached his arm out in, *sigh*, "slow motion" while saying that, "And then we saw the ditch, and were like running, and then we jumped and BOOOOOM! It blew up! Look at that crater! Hell yeah! Right? Right?!"

Misha and Shizune just stared at him with tired expressions. You didn't need to hear a word in order to do so.

They then dropped their eyes to Yuuko, who was on her knees, and their expressions turned to disbelief. Yuuko was nodding enthusiastically in time with Kenji, her hands up by her heart, occasionally clapping together, looking the way she probably did when she heard there was going to be a Firefly movie. She caught Misha and Shizune's gaze, and then straightened up, "Kenji, please calm down, we need to be adult about all this. And as the elder in the group, therefore the guardian, I would suggest that we head back to the school and call for no less than a squadron of ambulances."

They eventually got Kenji to agree, and the four of them shambled back down the wooded path.


	18. Chapter 17

Aaaaaand there. Perfect. Perfectly cute.

Misha sighed, and gave the little heart clip in her hair a flick. Despite the fact that she had cut the drills loose the day after 'that incident' all those months ago, she still managed to take forever when it came to her hair. She took a few steps back from the mirror, trying to get a full view of herself. Most of the scars had faded over the passing months, and luckily, what hair that had been torn out didn't really amount to much. It still hadn't stopped her from changing her style, though. She just felt it was neccessary. Kind of a whim, but neccessary. It was cropped short, now, but layered a bit. Shizune had 'voiced' disapproval at first, but she hadn't taken it any further than that. Whatever made Misha happy would make her happy, her words. Or signs.

Misha blew a few stray strands of hair away from her face. No, it was words. Calling them signs almost felt like agreeing with those people who said any form of sign language wasn't really a language. They should try learning it, becuase ovbiously they never bothered.

She stretched her arms overhead, and stretched a bit. She was still feeling a bit groggy, especially after Shizune's gruelling Student Council initiation. The new recruits had looked absolutely terrified and overwhelmed, and Shizune looked like she was barely containing her pleasure at needling them. Misha wondered how she herself had looked, and if she helped scar the poor newbies with Shizune. Oh well, that was the past. They'd get over it. Hopefully.

"And Shicchan always wondered why it was just the two of us," she mumbled to herself as she walked over to the window of her dorm room. Sure, Shizune always said she understood, but she never did anything about it. It made you wonder.

She chuckled to herself as she gazed out at the schoolyard, all caught in the throes of spring. There weren't any cherry blossoms at Yamaku High, at least not in the grounds, but that didn't take away a single thing. The gates were wide open, and small groups of people were trickling in: cautious parents, their heads twisting and turning about, grabbing any passerby, including students, and badgering them with questions, and the soon to be underclassman, staring at their feet, some still looking at the gate, even when they had gone as far as the path to the dorms, until they bumped into someone, whether literally or by one or the other starting a conversation. Misha felt that nostalgia again, remembering how she met Shizune. She let out a small happy sigh as she watched a shy young boy talk to a boisterous second year girl.

It was over. Everything. Her fight, her term in the Council, and her school life at Yamaku. There hadn't been many constants in her life up to that point. She did occasionally message her old aquaintences, but that was all they were, just people who she happened to be in a room with years and years ago. She never, ever wanted that to happen again. Sure, she was planning on forging ahead with her life. She couldn't live at Yamaku forever. But still, it would be nice to take something away with her, something to help coax the memories out of the dark cobwebbed corners of her mind.

She walked over to the candle she had on the nightstand. She had it standing for Mutou. She hadn't lit it in a long time, but she still left it standing, and she probably would keep it with her until it crumbled to pieces. There wasn't much else she could do for him. Even under that spell, he cared for his students, and was willing to go as far as neccessary for them. Sure, on Mondays it would take several scientific tests to prove he was in fact alive, and any other day of the week, his mind would wander about, but he cared. After the whole school had snapped out of the spell placed on them, he had been declared missing, and then finally lost. Misha, Shizune, Yuuko, and Kenji had all gone to the funeral, and had been surprised (but somewhat comforted) that then entirety of class 3-3 had gone as well. Even some alumni had made the trip out for him. Everyone had a Mutou story, all ranging from being late, the crazy stories he would tell them about being late, about how he missplaced things, about how he inspired them. Nomiya even showed his face, talking about some of their more ridiculous arguments, from school funds to vendable highballs in a can. There was a science club now, or there was going to be one next year. Misha never thought that she could feel even the tiniest bit of hope or hapiness at a funeral before.

Kenji had passed all his exams without breaking a sweat. Apparently, he was an 'eccentric genius.' Regardless, he was taking a year off before going to university, and he said he wanted to try to get his weekly report, "The Lone Saviour," published throughout the country. And by published, he meant by running around and throwing it, *ahem*, I mean passing out to people. Apparently, this was supposed to be not only just recreational, but training him when he joined up with "real reporters" and uncovered the truth behind everything. Though, he did confess to Misha that he really just wanted to get out there, and put his survival skills to the test. And while, yes, that was a bit ridiculous, he really did want to see if he could survive on his own, if he had what it took to have a goal, no matter how crazy it was, and accomplish it. He had built the bombshelter during the summer, though it eventually got turned into a sort of 'club-house,' complete with a bar. His dad used it mostly, but that was okay, he had said with a smirk. He owed him a couple of birthdays, anyway. As for what he was going to do professionally, he didn't know yet, but he figured he'd be able to 'survive' until he figured it out. Thinking about it made Misha giggle. That man would never change, and she really didn't know if he should or not.

Yuuko was in a bit of a crisis. While she had kept a straight face until the four of them had been admitted to the hospital (for supposeabley being attacked by a roaming pack of crazy wolverines most likely on their period... and guess who most likely came up with that one), the instant she had gotten out she had excitedly blogged about the entire affair. She had a detailed timeline, a list of the spells she had used from the book, the entire legend about the lord and his half-brother, and her personal account of the incident. It wasn't often, but when she got excited about something, she went all out on it. She immediately regretted it, but shrugged it off. There were how many blogs out there? What were the chances that hers would be picked out? Well, apparently they were pretty high. Her former roommate had shown up first, saying something along the lines of, "Oh yeah! This is where I left it!" She then proceeded to berate Yuuko for using "it" irresposibly (despite Yuuko's arguments of its neccesity), and then stomp out with the book. Her blog then got poplar. Very poplar. Unintentionally poplar. Not only did she have to explain to everyone that she knew personally that the blog was just fiction (Lies! Lies!), but now the Shanghai was filled with, well, new regulars. Regulars that would constantly ask for her. They would grab at her. Ask her to teach them spells. Propose marriage to her. And smell. Really, _really_ smell. And while Misha felt for her, needless to say, it had been many a moon since she had a parfait at the Shanghai. Poor Yuuko. Hopefully the acrchaelogical excavation she was going to take part in would help her out of her rut.

And as for Shizune...

*Knock Knock!*

Misha pulled away from the window, straightening her clothes a bit. The knocks rapped her door again, and with a sigh, she moved briskly to open it.

There she was. She was wrapped up in her trendy urban attire, her school uniform folded for the final time, most likely still smelling of the Council office, where she had slept last night.

She held up her hands, the scar on her ring finger just visible, but only if you knew where to look, and she signed, [Good morning. I was starting to think you'd never get up.]

Misha sighed, and rolled her eyes, but all with a smile, [The only reason you're up so early, Shicchan, is becuase you were stuck in that chair last night.]

[Ha! I've made it work before.]

[I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Shicchan, but you were always extra bitchy the morning after you slept in the office.]

Shizune's face scrunched up, and she playfully slapped at Misha's shoulder. [At least I could tough it out!]

Misha was too busy wrestling with one of her "Wahaha~!"'s to give Shizune a proper response.

Shizune shook her head and looked to the ceiling in mock dissapproval for a moment, before, [So. Are you...] Her hands faltered, but Misha took them in hers, and said, "Almost, Shicchan. Just give me a minute." She went back to packing.

Shizune slid in, and took a seat on Misha's bed, signing about how Misha should have packed last night, but Misha only caught bits and pieces of this. She was too busy scooping up what was left of her stuff and shoving it into the nearest open suitcase. After around ten minutes, she noticed that Shizune was also now on the floor with her, shoving stuff away. When she saw that she had Misha's attention, she signged, [Don't stop! We only have twenty minutes until the bus comes! Plus, my dad and Hideaki are waiting!] Misha groaned, and packed faster.

When it was finally done, they each grabbed one of Misha's bags and hurtled down the stairs and outside. Shizune, the early bird that she was, had already loaded everything in her father's car, and had even managed to say good-bye to Lilly. Misha remarked that she had done her own good-byes yesterday, especially with Kenji and Yuuko, but they fell on deaf ears. Or would that be closed eyes for Shizune? There was only so much talking that the two of them could do with one hand anyway, so they both just focused on getting to the gate on time.

To anyone else, the courtyard was singing with life, from the awakened birds, to the new students, to the current students, and to the departing students. But to them, there was silence. Their very own bubble of solitude. Apart from the occaisional wave and farewell to her fellow alumni, Misha was very much isolated, an island to herself. She had no regrets about this though, because from now on, she wasn't going to let herself be secluded anymore. It felt like the final good-bye was just begginning. It made Misha shudder a bit. Thre French have a saying when it comes to saying good-bye; they have a saying for everything. It goes, "To say good-bye means to die a little."

Shizune was going straight to work. Mostly, anyway. She had a bit of a fight to get through, first. She and her father both agreed that she needed to go to a university, and they both agreed that she needed to go a university that was respected in the business world, but unfortunately, they had disagreed on which one. Shizune had put in quite a few applications to prestigious schools, and had been accepted by many of them, but her father had _also_ put in many applications to _different_ prestigious schools, and they had also accepted. Both had secured scholarships and had laid out plans to visit, so now the both of them where in a vicious battle over Shizune's future. Of course, Misha knew that Shizune was looking forward to the confrontation. Shizune had only been able to take her father on in a serious manner only so many times, and Shizune honestly felt that if she defeated him now (and yes, that was the word she used, _defeated_), she would be able to take on anyone who ever got in her way. Even as the two of them were walking to the gate, Shizune was pulling ahead, carring Misha's heavey bag as if it meant nothing to her, standing as tall as she could, but unable to keep the shark smile off her face. She smelled blood, and whether it was actually in the water or just imagined, she was planning on an all-out assault, regardless. Typical Shizune.

But the thing was, Misha wasn't going to any of the school's on Jiggoro Hakamichi's list. Nor was she going to any of the ones on Shizune's

This, this long walk to the gate, pushing in-between the steadily growing number of new prospects, stepping over discarded pamphlets, ignoring the scared faces of their fellow alumni as they neared the gate themselves, was all just a part of this final good-bye.

And despite her trying to be strong, Misha kept shooting glances at the best friend she ever had. Shizune looked elegant. She already looked like she belonged outside the gate, her good-byes prepared the night before and handed out in fancy envelopes earlier in the morning. Pure professionalism, completely classy, one hundred percent adult. But Misha knew her all too well. What was outside those gates scared her as much as it did anyone else. It wasn't just a good-bye to each other. It was more than that.

From version one, to two, to three. They were leaving behind those silly girls who had played Student Council for almost three years.

So what was there to do? Well, Shizune had mentioned something about video chatting over the internet, despite the fact that she was absolutely terrible with computers, and so was Misha. Both of them had jokingly vowed to take courses just so they could figure it all out. They could still text message each other, and they had seriously vowed to keep one another up to date on each other's cell phone number.

Neither one of them wanted to lose the other.

In her pocket, Misha had a picture. It was of her, Shizune, Yuuko, and Kenji at the Shanghai. The only picture of the four of them. Another of her, Shizune, and Lilly running a noodle stand at one of the school festivals. Shizune had got Akira to make copies, and despite the fact that Lilly couldn't see it, she felt Shizune press the picture into her palm, and heard Misha tell what it was. Lilly's eyes had filled with tears, but she had kept her smile, and given them both a hug.

Good-bye.

The gate was visible, and beyond it, so was the bus.

Texting might be the only way to go for them. Misha had plans. Big plans. She didn't want to stay in Japan for a while. She wanted to travel. Europe had crossed her mind. So many countries, so many cultures, and all in one spot. She wanted all of this without being cooped up in a city, otherwise she would have run straight to Tokyo without a second thought. She had come to Yamaku looking to be a translator, but now she wasn't so sure. There werern't many JSL teachers in Japan, and there were barely any worldwide. Yamaku itself only had so many. And there were other languages that Misha wanted to take a crack at. Apparently ASL was a little similar. Well, maybe that was wishful thinking, but it couldn't hurt to try, right? Maybe learn another kind? Why stop at two?

She giggled to herself as she stepped up to the gate. It was open as her possibilities. Shizune sidled up next to her, giving her a smile and a nudge with her elbow. Together, they stepped through.

To their far left sat an expensive looking car, and outside of it, stood an eccentric looking man and his... his eccentric looking son. They both waved over to Shizune, who waved back, before turning to Misha. To their far right sat an idling bus, with the occaisonal student without a ride clambering on, lugging their heavy bags behind them. Misha turned from the bus and back to Shizune.

It was time.

They both placed Misha's bags down, and hugged. In that instant, she feels it all, remembers it all, from beginning to end.

After the incident earlier in the year, Misha had put aside everything.

The month afterwards, she made a promise to herself. She sat down, and worked out some goals. She tried not to get too emotional, but that was impossible. It wasn't because she was weak-willed; weak-willed would have been to run away and hide from those emotions. She made herself embrace them, and hold them tight. They were are part of her, not her entirely, and not something to be tossed out.

She had wished she could be there if anyone else was ever in that spot. She had wished that she could be a lending shoulder.

Shizune and Misha slowly pulled themselves apart, and stood in front of the gate, holding each other's hands.

But that month had passed, over and done with. This was now, at the gate, holding hands with Shizune, both with moist eyes and shy smiles. Slowly, tenderly, but finally, their fingers slip away, gently resting at their own sides. A cool breeze blows by, and Shizune gets a little embarrassed as she tries to keep her hair out of her eyes. Misha should have shown her the value of hair clips. The thought makes her giggle a bit, and Shizune gives her a somewhat annoyed look, thinking that Misha is laughing at her. Misha doesn't break the smile, and after a moment, Shizune returns it with one of her own. She then takes a step back, and gives a slight bow. Misha's eyes can't hold the tears anymore, and they slowly over-flow, running over her unflinching smile.

"Good-bye, Shicchan." She gives a slight wave.

Shizune's lip trembles, but she stretches it into a little smile. No words are needed.

Then, they both close their eyes, turn their backs, and start to walk. Misha doesn't open her eyes until she can only sofly hear Shizune's steps.

That month had passed, and this was now, heading down the road, her head held high, her feelings on her sleeve, but not in control. Misha doesn't wish anymore. She doesn't sit in her dark room alone, gazing out at the night sky, waiting for a shooting star. Here, there's daylight, its warmth on her skin, a comforting touch. The wind is at her back, giving her a gentle nudge in the right direction. The sun lights the pavement, and she follows it, each step bringing her closer to the future.

To Europe. To teaching.

"It's not over yet. I won't let be over." She climbs the stairs onto the bus, and the door gently clicks shut behind her. She looks out the window towards the school and the town, and her reflection gives her a teary-eyed look back, but with a smile.

"Goodbye... Misha."


End file.
